


Enjolras, I

by sherlockonthebarricade



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: English Grantaire, Internet friendship, Long Distance Relationship, M/M, Swedish Enjolras
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:15:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4047451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockonthebarricade/pseuds/sherlockonthebarricade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grantaire, 24 years old and obsessed with Doctor Who, gets bored one day and begins to writes a fanfiction.</p><p>Enjolras, also an enormous Whovian, reads this fanfiction.</p><p>They start talking over the internet. </p><p>This is how they fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Do you ever feel completely at a loss for what to do? There's an ache in your chest and your back and your neck and nothing feels right, and you're so incredibly bored?

Well, that's how Grantaire felt. He couldn't do a thing for more than a few minutes and he had just ended up sitting on his bed, staring at the TARDIS poster on the back of his bedroom door. In that moment, there wasn't much he wouldn't give for the Doctor to take him away to a far off planet in the distant future. It would never happen, but still Grantaire wished it could. 

And that was how the idea came to him. He grabbed his iPad and began to type out a story about a boy and the Doctor, who'd shown him the world. The boy in the fanfiction was him, but Grantaire decided to make his character a bit younger than himself. Grantaire was 24, and was often ridiculed for his love of Doctor Who. 

The plot line was clear and the first chapter was written. He opened up his Wattpad, and put up his chapter. He didn't really care much for his Wattpad account, he hadn't many followers and never really finished writing anything he started. However, his Instagram account was quite popular, and he posted this chapter of his story on there as well. He knew people would read it on Instagram. 

By the time Grantaire had written and posted the third chapter, there were two people reading and, he hoped, really enjoying it. These two readers already meant the world to him. They were so sweet and kind with their comments. 

But it wasn't until the ninth chapter of Grantaire's fanfiction that /he/ commented. A fan account, Doctor Who like Grantaire's but with a cooler username. Grantaire clicked on the username and scrolled down his account. It was awesome. This guy was very similar to Grantaire, completely obsessed with Doctor Who and completely in love with David Tennant. The follow button was, obviously, pressed. 

Two weeks after the first chapter had been posted, Grantaire posted chapter fifteen, the final one. The story had ended with the Doctor letting go of the boy's hand whilst trying to pull him back into the TARDIS. The boy had died after floating off into space listening to the Doctor's cries that he was so sorry. 

Grantaire felt like Steven Moffat. He knew that his few readers would be crying at the ending. He chuckled and scrolled through Instagram liking photos. It was then he came across the most beautiful face he'd ever seen. The man's face was more gorgeous than even that of David Tennant (and that's saying something, because there was nobody more attractive to Grantaire that David). 

Tears were streaming down the face, making his eyelashes darker and his eyes red. His long blonde hair was messily pushed behind his ears and his eyes were a deep brown. And though it was dark in the photo, the man had a kind of glow around him. It almost looked like heaven's light.

The photo was captioned, "Sobbing. This fanfic literally killed me. You're so evil." and he had tagged Grantaire. His heart jumped in his chest as he recognised the username of the account. It was his chapter nine reader. His incredibly gorgeous chapter nine reader. He looked around Grantaire's age, maybe a bit younger. 

Grantaire couldn't stop staring at the picture. 

-Not sure whether that's a positive or negative response... But thanks.  
Also yes, I'm evil.

~I'm in love with your fanfic. You're amazing.

His reader was quick to reply. Grantaire decided to try and make a bit more conversation with this guy, so he sent him a direct message.

-Hi, I'm Grantaire. I was wondering if you wanted to start DMing? You seem really nice. We don't have to if you don't want to. 

Grantaire added the final sentence just in case the guy didn't want to, and he didn't want to look like he was demanding anything. Again, the other replied swiftly.

~Yeah! I'd love to! I'm Enjolras, by the way.

-Fantastic! So, Enjolras, two questions: what are your three favourite things in the world? And how do you pronounce your name?

~Doctor Who. My favourite is 10, then 9. You didn't skip 9 did you? Because if you did we can't be friends. The Avengers. And a book series called Chronicles of Ixia. It's really amazing. My name... On-jole-ras. It's a french thing.

-You're french? OF COURSE I DIDNT SKIP NINE WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? AN IDIOT? 

~Nope, Swedish. I think I was named after some book character or something. I do love France though. I want to move there when I'm done in university.


	2. Chapter 2

The two quickly became close. They fought often, about which episode of Doctor Who was the best, who of Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch is hotter, and their most frequent arguement (which constantly threatened their friendship): Stucky or Stony?

Enjolras was a Hiddlestoner and Stony was one of his three OTPs. Grantaire, however, was very much a Cumberbitch (he still insisted on calling himself that even though the fans had changed their name) and was one of the biggest Stucky writers on AO3. His fanfictions were the ones that everyone has read, and the ones recommended to new members of the fandom. 

Despite their differences, Enjolras found Grantaire creeping into his thoughts more and more often. He and Grantaire had started skyping every few days and the pair constantly talked through Instagram. 

"Enjolras, honey, put your phone down. We're going to see Uncle Javert, and you know how he hates you sitting there on your phone."   
"Mum, he hates everything. I don't know why we even bother going to see him." Enjolras replied, rolling his eyes.  
"He's not even Dad's brother!" Cosette chimed in, gaining a disapproving glare from her mother.   
"And Dad's not even your father, but you still call him Dad."  
"We've grown up with Dad, he's as good as a father to us."  
"And Jean grew up with Javert, so he's as good as a brother. So you will treat him as an uncle, and we will go and visit him."

Jean sat silently, chuckling slightly at his wife as she argued with the twins. Glancing at Enjolras, he asked, "what are you smiling at? Is it a boy? Is it your boyfriend? He'd better treat you well or I'll punch him in the face, son."  
"Oh my god Dad, no! It's not my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend. It's just a friend."  
"You're not smiling like it's just a friend. I know that look. The first time I laid eyes on your mother..."

Enjolras ignored him. He didn't want to hear some soppy story about how much Jean loved Fantine. He turned his eyes back to his phone. 

~Sorry Taire, I've got to go. Can we skype later?

-Of course babe. See you later.

Grantaire didn't mean to call him 'babe'. It just happened. He turned off his phone, blushing. Though there was absolutely nobody there to see him so embarrassed, Grantaire covered his very red face with his paint splattered hands. 

Grantaire was sitting in a tree, on the highest branch he could get to. He was painting, but he'd stopped for a while to scroll through Instagram, when he came across a photo on Enjolras's account. It was him and a smaller blonde girl. Her hand was wrapped tightly around his arm and they were both smiling happily at the camera. 

Grantaire felt a pang of jealousy. Was this Enjolras's girlfriend? With a sigh of relief, Grantaire read the caption. 'Hi, this is Enjolras's twin sister, Cosette. Follow my Harry Potter account! @_rubeusronaldpotter !!!'

Grantaire stared at the photo a while longer. Cosette, whilst beautiful, wasn't nearly as stunning as Enjolras. Both had blonde hair, Cosette's was cut short in a pixie style, Enjolras had longer hair. Her eyes were blue, and his were a deep, chocolatey brown. They looked very similar. 

Later on, Grantaire logged into Skype and called Enjolras, who picked up almost instantly. 

"Hiya," Enjolras mumbled in his thick Swedish accent.  
"Hi," Grantaire replied.   
"Sorry I had to go earlier, my mum made me put my phone away."  
"It's fine. You know your sister posted a photo on your account?"  
"What? Please tell me it wasn't a bad one."  
"No, you both looked lovely. Your sister is very pretty."  
"Yeah, she is."  
Grantaire paused for a moment, admiring the way the light bounced off Enjolras's hair. 

"You're beautiful." He murmured, not really knowing whether he'd meant to say that out loud. Enjolras blushed.  
"Grantaire, I-" 

Cosette burst through the door, singing Circle of Life. As she reached the chorus, she held the pile of washing above Enjolras's head and then dropped it.  
"What was that for?" Enjolras scowled.  
"It doesn't matter! It's in the past!"  
"Yeah, but it still hurts."  
"Ah yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it!"

And with that she left, leaving Enjolras suppressing a smile and Grantaire laughing.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"Sorry Taire, my sister... Well, yeah." Enjolras didn't really know what to say. Grantaire had found it funny, and Cosette hadn't said anything embarrassing. It was really okay.   
Cosette had, however, interrupted something. Grantaire didn't ask what Enjolras was going to say to him before his sister burst through the door. He had an idea of how that sentence was going to end, but he couldn't help but be reminded of Doctor Who, Doomsday.   
"Grantaire, I-" the words echoed around in his head after they had finished skyping. Enjolras had seemed a little bit nervous as he'd spoken, and then slightly disgruntled when he was interrupted. What he was saying was important. 

"Cosette!" Enjolras yelled, drawing out the 'e'.   
"What? I'm busy!" Came the reply from downstairs.  
"I need your help! Now!"   
"Ugh, okay," Cosette said, sitting down on her brother's bed, "so what's the matter?"  
"How did it feel when Marius first called you beautiful?"  
"Oh, well... I kinda got this feeling inside me like, like I was so incredibly happy and there was something in my chest, my heart beating faster. A weird, lovely feeling and I knew I loved him. I'd known for a while, really. But the way he said it, totally in awe of me. He meant it, and that was what was so special. And he didn't say it because I wanted to hear it, he said it because he... He loves me. "  
"Yeah."  
"I walked all the way up those stairs, and made that long monologue of a description and you respond with 'yeah'? Enjolras!"  
"I'm in love with Grantaire."   
"You, what?"  
"Cosette, I am in love with Grantaire. Completely and utterly in love with him." Enjolras whispered, the realisation creeping over him.   
"Yeah, you are. I can see it. The way you smile when you message him, your eyes light up when you skype him, you talk about him all the time. Aww my baby brother is in love!"  
"Ive got to see him 'Sette, I have to meet him. But he's so far away. He's in England, and we're here. And it's not like I can afford to travel."  
"I know honey. We'll find a way."

 

"Hey 'Rel." Grantaire walked into the pub and sat down next to his friend. Within the hour, both were drunk. 

"You know man, I am so hot," Bahorel grinned.   
"If you say so, dude."  
"If you don't mind, I'd rather you didn't call me that. I'm not exactly a dude." Bahorel was a demiboy, part male, part something else, without identifying the other part. Or as they themself liked to describe it, 'part guy, part who the hell knows or cares'. Pronouns: they/them.   
"Of course mate. Sorry."

"So, see any hot girls?"  
"I'm gay. You know that."  
"Yeah I know. But I'm not."  
Half of what Bahorel said whilst drunk made no sense. He wouldn't remember it in the morning anyway, so it didn't matter. 

"What's wrong? You look sad. Sadder than usual."  
"Nothing's wrong."  
"R, mate, I know you. Something's bothering you. Tell me."  
"I'm in love." Grantaire sighed, burying his face in his hands.  
"Dude, that's great! Why are you so upset about it?"  
"He's Swedish. He lives in Sweden."  
"Oh." Bahorel didn't really know what to say. "What's he like?"  
"His name is Enjolras. He's 19. We met over Instagram. We've been talking for a while, and skyping."  
"Any chance he feels the same way?"  
"How could he? He's beautiful- godlike beautiful- intelligent, witty, and I'm an ugly drunk."  
"You're not that bad looking, man. The drunk part I can't argue with though."

"I don't have a chance."  
"You do, he obviously likes you enough to constantly talk to you."  
"He doesn't constantly talk to me."  
"He does. Unless it's your mother you're frantically typing away on that phone to all the time."  
"I have other friends!"  
"Dude, we both know that's a lie. We only have each other, it's just you and me. And I'm not texting you while you're with me. It's him. Enjolras. I think you should tell him you like him. Or at least drop hints."  
"I called him beautiful earlier."  
"YOU DID WHAT!? What did he say?"  
"His sister came in and dumped a load of clothes on his head. I think he was going to say something, but-"  
"The moment had passed?"  
"Yeah," Grantaire put his head down on the table, wondering what would have happened if Cosette hadn't interrupted that moment.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey honey."  
"Oh, hi, beautiful. I errr wasn't expecting OH GOD!" Cosette chuckled as she heard something smash.  
"What did you drop?"  
"My grandfather's glass of orange juice. And now it's all over my kitchen floor!"  
"At least it's the kitchen and not the carpet or the sofa. That would've been worse. Pick up all the glass, and be careful not to cut your hands, and get a mop sweetheart."  
"Okay, one second. What would I do without you?" Marius smiled, then grimaced as a shard of glass poked his finger. 

"So, how are you?"  
"I actually need a favour."  
"Anything for you."  
"Have you and the guys got Enjolras anything for his birthday yet?"  
"Damn, when's his birthday?"  
"Same as mine, you idiot, 5th of June."  
"That's not for another four months! You got me worried! I don't think anyone has. Why?"  
"He's fallen in love. They've been talking for about a year now and the guy lives in England."  
"He's in love with Grantaire?"   
"Yeah, so I need you to tell the boys and Chetta, because if we all put some money together, I'm sure we'll have enough to put him on a plane."  
"Okay, love. I'll spread the word."  
"Thank you, honey."  
"I love you, Cosette."  
"I love you too."

Marius walked into the Musain, the café that all his friends met up in most weekends. They were all at university together, and the café was quite close to where they all lived. It was quiet and not many people went there. Most students went out to clubs and bars on Saturday night, but that wasn't such a great idea for Marius's group. 

Bossuet had social anxiety, which caused him to feel extremely uncomfortable and scared in crowded places. Joly was a hypochondriac and hated the sweaty, busy atmosphere of clubs and bars. Jehan was genderfluid and would often come home to the flat they shared with Éponine and Azelma bruised and bloodied after someone had beaten them up for wearing a dress. Being around people they didn't know terrified them now, and so they wouldn't go out with anyone other than friends and family now. Azelma was deaf in one ear and loud noises caused her a lot of pain in the other ear. Combeferre hated big parties. Courfeyrac, as much as he loved parties, loved Combeferre more and disliked leaving him alone in the little free time they had. The others decided that it would be better if they all hung out at the Musain in the evenings.

On this Saturday, Marius was the first there. He bought his bottle of water and sat down. A few minutes later Musichetta, Joly and Bossuet arrived. Musichetta sat her boyfriends down and went up to the counter to order an expresso for herself and a cappuccino for Bossuet. Joly didn't want anything, just in case of germs. Feuilly bought a caramel latte. Éponine, Azelma and Jehan came in, ordering two coffees and a tea with sugar respectively. Combeferre pushed open the door with the hand that wasn't tightly holding Courfeyrac's and held it open for his boyfriend, who bought himself a hot chocolate (with whipped cream) and Combeferre a tea with no sugar- because Combeferre had the sweetest sweet tooth ever, but not when it came to tea.

"Umm, hi! Enjolras isn't coming today. Cosette kept him at home because we have a plan." Marius had rehearsed this little speech on his way to the Musain. "You've all heard about Grantaire, I assume?"  
The friends all nodded and mumbled to each other.  
"Well, Enjolras figured out yesterday that he is in love with Grantaire."  
"He only just realised? We've known for weeks, haven't we Jellybaby?" Combeferre gazed lovingly at Courfeyrac. After the longest two years (and probably the most frustrating two years for the friends of the pair) Combeferre had finally confessed his feelings to his flatmate. And now they were the most sickeningly adorable couple imaginable.

"Grantaire is so amazing! Did I tell you about the time Grantaire did this? Look at this picture Grantaire painted? Isn't he just so talented? Don't you just love the way Grantaire looks in this photo? Guess what guys? Grantaire said this!" Courfeyrac mimicked Enjolras in a squeaky voice. 

"Well, he's in love. And Grantaire lives in England. So Cosette was thinking, for his 20th, we could all put some money together and send him over to London to meet him."  
"Fantastic idea! Enjolras is always such a hard person to buy presents for." Musichetta laughed. 

"We've already bought him a present." Combeferre frowned. "There was a red coat he desperately wanted in a shop about a month ago. He couldn't afford it, so we bought it for him."   
"He really loved it, and he looked smoking hot in it as well." Courfeyrac paused, thinking. "Not as hot as this sexy man of mine but still hot."  
Courfeyrac kissed Combeferre's cheek, then his boyfriend pulled him into his lap and cuddled him. 

The rest of the group agreed to the plan. 

 

Grantaire was slightly confused when he received a message on Instagram from an account he was pretty sure he'd never seen before. 

= Hi! What are you doing on June the 5th to June the 7th? 

\- I don't know. Who are you?

= Oh, sorry! I'm Cosette, Enjolras sister. You are Grantaire, right?

\- Hi! How could I forget? Sorry. Yes I am.

= So, you and Enjolras are great friends?

\- Yes, I'd say so. He's amazing, I mean, he's kind and sweet and funny and he's a really great guy, you know? 

= Would you like to meet him?

\- Oh God, yes! He's my best friend. I know that sounds silly, but I don't have many other friends. And I adore Enjolras.

= Well, June 5th is his birthday, and his friends and I are planning on buying him plane tickets so he can meet you. He's desperate to see you.

\- OH MY GOD REALLY?! I CANT WAIT!!! He can stay at my house, well obviously. I've got a spare room. 

= Great! Don't plan anything for the 5th to the 7th! 

\- I WON'T!!! OH WOW I'M SO EXCITED! When are you going to tell him?

= Not until his birthday. We'll have half the day with him then put him on a flight and send him to you. 

\- Awesome! Thank you so much, Cosette. Honestly, this means the world to me.


	5. Chapter 5

Four Months Later...

"Enjolras..." He heard his name being called. He didn't want to get out of bed yet, it couldn't be eight o'clock yet. "Enjolras!"  
He opened his eyes and saw the face of his sister hovering above him. "Wake up Enjolras! It's your birthday!"  
"It's your birthday too! Why aren't you still sleeping? It's too early to get up!"  
"Things to do! Presents to give! People to see! Now get up!"

Enjolras reluctantly sat up. Cosette dragged him out of bed and they walked downstairs together in their pyjamas. Enjolras wore Star Trek pyjamas (he had wanted to wear his Avengers onesie but it had disappeared) and Cosette had a Lion King onesie. Still half asleep, he didn't properly wake up until he was greeted by the smell of pancakes and their parents singing 'Happy Birthday' loudly as they walked into the kitchen. 

Their parents gave them their presents while they ate pancakes. Enjolras had Nutella and strawberries on two pancakes, and golden syrup on the other. Cosette had sugar and cheese, a combination she would defend viciously. Enjolras also gave his twin sister a present: a flowery dress similar to one she'd seen Jehan wear and demanded to know where they'd got it from. Enjolras had gone to the shop the next day to find the dress, but in different colours so his friend and sister wouldn't be wearing the same thing. (Once, Azelma had worn the exact same outfit as Jehan and the two of them next to each other looked slightly ridiculous.) He also bought her a bottle of her favourite perfume. 

"And here's yours!" Cosette squealed, dropping a large package into her brother's lap.   
"Is this what I think it is?" Enjolras grinned.  
"Just open it!" Cosette said, and Enjolras ripped off the paper to find a Lady and the Tramp Pillow Pet. He'd seen it in Disneyland when he had gone with Cosette and the rest of his friends. Everybody had seen him gazing longingly at it, but he didn't buy it because he was desperate to be as grown up as he could.   
"Oh my god, Cosette! Thank you so much! I love it!"  
"I've got something else for you too. I have to wait until we see Marius and the rest of them to give it to you though. I can't wait!"  
"Can I have a clue?"  
"Oh you're going to love it!" She giggled. "It's not something I can actually give to you, it's something for you to do."

After breakfast, they went to see their grandparents and Jean insisted they visit Javert, their 'uncle'. Cosette could hardly concentrate on the gifts she was receiving because she couldn't wait to tell Enjolras where he was going. From their grandparents, Cosette received a gorgeous pair of high heels and some earrings, and Enjolras got boots and a couple of nice shirts. Javert gave them both money. They went out for lunch with their parents and then went to see their friends.

Everybody was already at the Musain, sitting at their usual table (two tables pushed together by the window). There were three seats spare: one for each of the twins and one for Courfeyrac, who was currently sitting on Combeferre's lap with his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. The owner of the café knew Enjolras quite well, and had made him and Cosette a birthday cake. 

When the twins walked into the café, everybody started singing, quietly though because of Azelma's ear. Feuilly dished out cake, and then everyone gave their presents to Cosette. Courfeyrac handed Enjolras his present from him and Combeferre.   
"Oh my god, guys! You didn't have to get this for me! It was so expensive." Enjolras threw his arms around the pair of them.  
"You loved it so much, and you looked lovely in it." Courfeyrac laughed.  
"Thank you so so so much!" Enjolras hugged them both again and then put the coat on, admiring himself in the reflection of the window.   
"You're welcome. We're glad you like it." Combeferre smiled.

"Enjolras, this one is from all of us." Cosette was grinning from ear to ear, barely containing her excitement. She pulled an envelope out of her bag and handed it to her twin, while the rest of their friends sat on the edge of their chairs, knowing that he would be over the moon when he opened it. 

Enjolras slowly ripped the envelope open, and pulled out the card inside. He opened the card and his eyes widened. His jaw dropped. He looked up at his friends, then at Cosette, who nodded. 

"OH MY GOD! WOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I... I... I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY! THIS IS AMAZING! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH EVERYONE!" He hugged everyone, holding onto Cosette for the longest. He then sat and read the rest of the card.

'Enjolras,

We all put some money together to send you to London for the weekend. You'll be staying with Grantaire. He knows you're coming and will meet you at the airport. We exchanged the money we didn't use for the plane, so here's some spending money. Have fun!

With lots of love from

Cosette, Marius, Jehan, Éponine, Azelma, Musichetta, Joly, Bossuet, Feuilly, Combeferre and Courfeyrac

xxxxx'

"I seriously don't know what to say. This is the best present ever. Thank you so much."  
"Your plane leaves in two and a half hours. We'd better get going." Cosette stood up, thanked everyone for the presents they'd given her. Enjolras thanked them again walked out with his sister. When they were both in the car, Enjolras felt tears in his eyes.

"Cosette, I'm going to meet him?"   
"In five hours, yes. Just five more hours Enj."  
"I can't wait. I'm going to meet him. I'm going to meet Grantaire. Grantaire. I love him. I'm in love with him. And I'm going to meet him." Enjolras mumbled to himself. "Grantaire."  
"Yes, Grantaire. Now put your seatbelt on so we can get going."   
"Don't we need to go home so I can pack?"  
"No, stupid, I packed for you. Didn't you notice all your clothes going missing?"  
"You took them? I thought they'd all just disappeared!"

When they got to the airport, Cosette got the suitcase out of her car and handed it to Enjolras. They hugged and she fussed over him, making sure he had his passport and boarding pass, telling him to call her when he got there. He promised he would and she got back into the car as he walked into the airport.

Cosette picked up her phone, taking a picture of Enjolras as he got to the doors of the airport. She sent it to Grantaire. 

= He's on his way!


	6. Chapter 6

Grantaire pulled into the airport car park. Enjolras's flight was due in twenty minutes, and it would probably take him a while to get through customs as well. He sat on one of the plastic seats by the arrivals gate, excited and slightly nervous to meet Enjolras for the first time. Everything would be perfect, he knew, but what if something went wrong? What if Enjolras didn't like him in person? What if Enjolras thought he smelled or he was boring to be around? What if he accidentally did something and Enjolras realised Grantaire was in love with him and everything became awkward?

Pushing those thoughts aside, Grantaire unfolded the sign he'd made. It was A3 size and had 'Enjolras' written on it in big, swirly red letters. The taxi drivers booked for business people held up printed signs so their customers would find them easily, so Grantaire had decided to do the same, but prettier. 

Minutes passed slowly, and by the time Enjolras's flight landing was announced Grantaire sat on the edge of his seat, biting his nails. Just a few more minutes.

People began streaming out of the arrivals gate and Grantaire stood up, holding his sign up so Enjolras would see it. Soon Grantaire stood in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, desperately searching for his best friend. Maybe it wasn't the right flight. 

Then he saw him. 

A head of golden hair that glowed in the bright lights of the airport, a flash of excitement in chocolatey brown eyes as he spotted his name, a smile of pearly white teeth that grew into a shining grin as he recognised the person holding the sign. He began running, dropping his bag halfway towards the other man, who by this point had put the sign down and was stood waiting with open arms.

He ran and eventually reached the other man. He threw his arms around the man's neck, and felt arms around his waist. He was lifted into the air and he was spinning. Then his feet were on the ground again and he was pulled closer to his friend. 

"Grantaire." He whispered, and he didn't need to say anything else because Grantaire knew everything he would have said.  
"Enjolras." Grantaire replied, releasing Enjolras from the hug and looking into his eyes properly for the first time. "Wow. This... This is amazing. You're here."  
"I'm here. And I'm standing next to you. Oh my god. It's so weird, I mean you're right there." Enjolras reached out and put a hand on Grantaire's cheek, his eyes unblinking. He looked completely mesmerised by the man in front of him.  
"I know what you mean. You've always been a picture on a computer screen. Of course, I knew that you were an actual person, but it didn't really sink in until now." Grantaire smiled, and pulled Enjolras into another hug before picking up his bag and leading him to the car.

"I almost forgot!" Grantaire reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an envelope. "Happy birthday!" He said, handing it to Enjolras.  
"What's this?" The blonde replied, smiling.   
"Your present. Open it."  
Enjolras opened the envelope and read the card inside.

 

My dearest Enjolras, 

Happy twentieth birthday! 

We're going to see Miss Saigon. And we have front row tickets, seats A14 and A15!

Lots of love,   
Grantaire   
xxxxx

 

"No way. Taire, you shouldn't have!" Enjolras would've hugged his friend again if he wasn't driving.   
"But I did. We're going tonight. And look at the seats we have!"  
Enjolras looked down at the card again, and then squealed loudly, making Grantaire laugh. "FRONT ROW SEATS! GRANTAIRE THIS IS AMAZING! MY FAVOURITE MUSICAL, SEATS BANG SLAP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT ROW, ON MY BIRTHDAY! YOU ARE AMAZING! How did you know I love theatre?"  
"Your sister. Told her I wanted to do something special for you the night you got here, asked her if you liked theatre. She told me Miss Saigon is your favourite but you've never seen it performed professionally. So I got tickets."  
"Thank you so much Taire. I can't wait!"  
"Also, your sister may have mentioned that you can sing. And dance. And act. And that you've been in a few shows yourself."  
"She told you?"  
"Yup!"  
"I'm going to kill her."  
"Sure you are, Tarzan."  
Enjolras glared at Grantaire, who smirked. They were laughing and singing Disney songs for the rest of the journey back to Grantaire's house. 

"Wow. You live here? It's so big. It looks so expensive." Enjolras stared openmouthed at the building.   
"Yeah, I'm kinda rich. Well, my family is. My mum is a successful businesswoman, my dad comes from a long line of rich people and my grandma has won the lottery three times. She gave me all the money the second time. Mum was her only child, and I'm her only grandchild. She didn't need the money, and neither did my parents, so she gave it all to me. Which was cool."  
"Awesome, it's a nice house as well."  
"It is. Let's take your bag upstairs. I'll show you your room."

They walked up the stairs, and into Grantaire's spare room, which had never actually been slept in before. Grantaire put the bag down and told him, "Cosette should've put something nice in there for you. A shirt and tie or something. I told her you'd need it."  
Enjolras unzipped his bag and sorted through it. He found one of the nice shirts his grandparents had given him, and some of the trousers Fantine had bought him for when he needed to wear a suit. "Is this okay?"  
"Perfect! Now get changed, we're going out for dinner before the show."  
Grantaire closed the door to give Enjolras some privacy, and went into his own room to get changed. 

Five minutes later, there was a knock on his bedroom door. He opened the door to see Enjolras with his hair combed neatly back into a ponytail. It was tied with a black ribbon. He took Grantaire's breath away.  
"Enjolras, I... Wow. You look... Gorgeous." Grantaire's mouth hung open in awe of his friend, while Enjolras blushed a red almost as bright as his new coat.   
"Thanks. You look great too." He smiled shyly, and then looked down at his feet.   
"Shall we, then?" Grantaire grinned and started making his way down the stairs towards the front door. He walked out the the car, opened the door open for Enjolras and helped him in, and then started driving to the restaurant. 

"Grantaire?" Enjolras whispered as they pulled into the car park.  
"Yes?" Grantaire parked the car and turned to Enjolras.  
"What if they think we're on a date?" Enjolras was secretly hoping this was a date, that Grantaire would laugh and tell him he wanted it to be a date.  
"They won't." Grantaire wished this could be a date, but kept his thoughts to himself so Enjolras wouldn't be creeped out and get on the next flight back home. "Shall we, then?"  
They both climbed out of the car and into the chilly night air. As they reached the steps leading up to the restaurant, Grantaire offered Enjolras his arm. The younger man gladly wrapped a hand around his arm just above the elbow, and they walked in together. 

"Good evening, gentlemen! Have you booked a table?" The waiter by the front door asked, in an accent that sounded oddly familiar.  
"Yes, it should be under Grantaire?"  
"Ah, yes. Right this way." He said, showing the pair to a table and giving each of them a wine menu.   
"Anything you like the look of?" Grantaire asked, and Enjolras shook his head, not actually knowing many wines. He couldn't tell the difference between them all. The waiter returned after a few minutes.   
"What drinks can I get Mr Grantaire and his lovely date?" Enjolras blushed again, this time staring at Grantaire.  
"Oh, we're not on a date."  
"I apologise." The waiter smiled, whilst giving Grantaire a look that almost screamed, 'aren't you?'   
"What can I get you to drink?"  
"We were wondering if you'd recommend a wine?" Grantaire said.

They ordered wine and their food. Grantaire found himself needing to toilet, and shortly after he'd gone the waiter returned with their meals. Enjolras thanked the waiter.  
"You are not from around here either? Where are you from?" The waiter noticed his thick Swedish accent.  
"Err, Sweden."  
"Me too, my young friend! I don't meet many people from my own country here. How long have you been in England?"  
"About three hours, actually."  
"What brings you here?" Enjolras looked at the waiter timidly, then glanced at Grantaire's chair. "Ah, the other young man. Your friend?"  
"My friend." Enjolras smiled sadly. "He's amazing. He's taking me out for dinner, then we're going to the theatre to see Miss Saigon, my favourite show."  
"And you say this isn't a date?" The waiter raised his eyebrows, just as Grantaire returned.

They decided to walk to the theatre, arm in arm. It was a warm evening, summer had just started and England, for once, had nice weather. So they walked. When the theatre came into view, Enjolras could barely contain himself. His eyes widened and his heart beat faster and faster. He squealed and Grantaire laughed, leading him into the theatre and to the box office.   
"Hi, I came up earlier to for the tickets and was told to collect them here?"  
"Yes, what's your name?" The lady asked.  
"Grantaire."  
"Ah yes, I remember you. The one with the Swedish... friend. And this must be him?" She put particular emphasis on 'friend', and winked at Grantaire.  
"Yes! He's very excited."  
"Here are you tickets. Enjoy the show gentlemen!"  
"Thank you."

"How did you get seats this good?" Enjolras asked gazing at the stage, and then at all the seats behind them.  
"Well, the only way to get front row seats for Miss Saigon is to get here in the morning and get tickets from the box office. There's usually a queue, but I was first today, so I had the pick of the seats."  
"How early did you get here?"  
"Got here at half past six," Grantaire smiled as Enjolras gaped at him, "but it was worth it..."  
"Worth it for these seats." Enjolras looked up again, smiling in wonder at the stage.  
"It was worth it and I'd do it all over again just to see you smile the way you're smiling now." Grantaire put his hand on Enjolras's cheek, and Enjolras took a step closer to his friend so that their faces were only inches apart.  
"Grantaire, I..."

Then the lights dimmed in the theatre and the curtain went up. The pair sat down, both blushing pink. Both of them sat awkwardly as the prostitutes danced and sang, cheered on by the American soldiers. The show went on and Enjolras had an odd look on his face, a mixture of absolute joy from being there and sadness and anger at the situation the characters were in. The corner of Grantaire's lips turned up as his glanced at the beautiful man next to him and the strange look on his face. 

Kim's first note in Sunlight and Moon had tears escaping Enjolras's eyes. As they sung 'My hands still shake, I reach for you' Enjolras slipped his hand into Grantaire's, lacing their fingers together. At first, Grantaire didn't realise he was holding the hand of the man he loved, but when he did notice, he simply looked down at their hands and smiled. He stroked Enjolras's thumb gently, savouring every moment they spent holding hands. 

Their hands didn't leave each other until they got back to the car. Tears stained Enjolras's cheeks from the ending of the show, but a smile was on his face. They spent almost the entire journey in silence. Neither could think of a thing to say other than 'I am in love with you' and both were waiting for the opportune moment to confess their feelings. So they sat in silence for the ten minute drive back to Grantaire's house, and both their hands felt cold.


	7. Chapter 7

Grantaire walked into the kitchen to make hot chocolate, like he always did before bed. He picked out two mugs, a Captain America one for himself and a TARDIS for Enjolras. He wanted to tell Enjolras how he felt, but worried that his feelings would not be reciprocated.

'Holding your hand want just a friendly gesture. It wasn't anything but thanking you for dinner and the show. He just wanted to let you know how much he loved what you did for his birthday, and how pleased he was at finally meeting his friend. That's all you are: his friend.' Grantaire thought, but the little voice in the back of his head wondered if Enjolras could feel the same way. He imagined being with Enjolras forever, waking up each day next to him and seeing him smile all the time the way he smiled in the theatre. He wanted that, he wanted Enjolras, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish. He desperately wanted that.

Enjolras was upstairs, changing into his Avengers onesie. It was an awesome onesie. The body was Captain America's suit. One arm was green, one was and Iron Man arm. The legs were both black and one had purple bows and arrows and the other had guns for Black Widow. And it had Thor's helmet on the hood. It was cosy and he was very warm. Apart from his hands. They felt cold, his left particularly, the one that had been clasped tightly in Grantaire's right hand twenty minutes ago. 

'He let you hold his hand because he thought it was just a friendly gesture. He only did it because you're his friend and you've just met and he's excited about it. He just wanted to let you know how happy he was that you're here, and how much he was enjoying your company... But only in a friendly way. Your company as his friend. And that's all you are, Enjolras: his friend.' He thought, convinced it was true. Still Enjolras wondered if Grantaire did feel something for him other than friendship. What he'd said... And before the show started it felt like Grantaire was going to kiss him. He decided that he wouldn't ask anything to abrupt, but he would find out tonight. He was brave. And he wanted to be with Grantaire more than anything. So he went back downstairs to the empty living room.

"Grantaire, where are you?" He yelled, slightly scared.  
"In the kitchen! You like hot chocolate, right?" Came the reply. Enjolras followed the sound of the voice down the hall, where he almost bumped into Grantaire.  
"I need to tell you something." They both said, at almost exactly the same time.  
Grantaire laughed, and told Enjolras to go first. They walked slowly back into the living room and sat on the sofa.

"Tonight was probably the best night of my entire life. Not because it's my birthday, or because of the lovely dinner or seeing my favourite musical live for the first time. Well," Enjolras chuckled, his confession becoming slightly longer than he originally planned, "it's partly because of all those things. Tonight was the best night of my entire life because I went out for a lovely dinner with my best friend, I held hands with my best friend whilst watching my favourite musical and I spent my birthday with the man who is not only my best friend, but the man I realised a while ago that I... I am in love with."

Grantaire put down his mug, his hands trembling a little. "You're... You're in love... With me?"  
Enjolras blushed and looked down at his feet, still terrified that Grantaire wouldn't feel the same way and he would have to get on the next plane that left the airport. "I am."

"Enjolras, I want you to know that I have never been good with feelings." Enjolras's face fell. "I promised myself a while back that I would never feel too strongly for anyone because they were bound to leave me and I couldn't be cast out, not again. I convinced myself that nobody could ever love me, and I built a wall between myself and anybody I may have loved. And nobody has ever got past that. But you, Enjolras, you've slipped through my defences. And you've captured my heart. I was too scared to say anything and I'm still scared. But what I'm trying to say is I love you too. I love you too and I love you a lot and I will love you forever."

Then their lips met, fitting together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle. There wasn't much to the kiss. They were both smiling too much for anything more than pressing their lips together. Grantaire pulled away to breathe. Enjolras's eyes widened, thinking he had done something wrong and put Grantaire off. But the worry quickly vanished as Grantaire pulled him in for another kiss, tangling his fingers in Enjolras's thick blond hair. Enjolras wound his arms round Grantaire's waist, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. 

By the time they pulled apart properly, both mugs of hot chocolate were cold. 

"Enjolras," Grantaire whispered, "we should go to sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."  
"I am going to sleep. See, I'm sleeping." Enjolras mumbled against the other man's neck, his words barely audible.  
"You can't sleep there!"  
"I can. I can and I will. It's comfy and warm and you smell nice." He nuzzled further into Grantaire's neck, moving his hand from Grantaire's chest so he could cuddle him.  
"We're on the sofa. We can't sleep on the sofa. Let's just go upstairs, okay?"  
"I'm too tired." Grantaire realised that Enjolras became very cuddly when he was tired. And he was, apparently, very tired. So Grantaire scooped up the sleepy twenty-year-old and carried him upstairs, then tucked him into bed and walked out, closing the door.

Enjolras began to wonder why they weren't sharing a bed. He mulled it over in his head for about five minutes and came to the conclusion that Grantaire didn't want him in his bed. But after another five or ten minutes thinking about it, he decided to stop assuming he knew how Grantaire felt and got out of bed to ask him. He tiptoed across the room, opened the door and then was surprised to see the man himself standing outside his room.

"Sorry, I was just..." Grantaire looked startled. "Just wondering... If you wanted to sleep with me. Not like that! I mean, do you want to sleep in my bed? Because, well, we only have two more days together before you go home, and I thought, why waste time being apart?"  
Enjolras smiled sleepily and slipped his hand into the other man's hand. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I want to spend every moment I can with you."   
They fell asleep, Enjolras, with Grantaire's arms around him, snuggling into the chest of the older man, who, he now supposed, was his boyfriend.


	8. Chapter 8

Neither man had ever slept better than they did that night, wrapped happily in each other's arms. When Grantaire woke, he had to push a mop of blond hair out of his eyes. He then attempted to sit up which made his realise that Enjolras was laying on top of him, his cheek squashed against Grantaire's and their legs and arms tangled together. Grantaire blew gently on the sleeping man's face. He giggled as Enjolras crinkled his nose and shook his head a little. 

"Enjolras," Grantaire whispered. Enjolras mumbled something inaudible in Swedish and didn't wake up, so Grantaire decided on a different tactic. He began kissing his boyfriend's face all over. By the time he reached his lips, Enjolras was awake and kissed back. They kissed for a while, Grantaire rolling over so he was on top, but before things could get too heated he stopped. Enjolras complained, and gave his boyfriend puppy dog eyes.  
"Nope, that doesn't work on me. Come on, we have things to do!" Grantaire jumped out of bed, completely unaffected by the eyes, which usually worked on Combeferre and even Eponine and always worked on Courfeyrac and Jehan. 

They went downstairs, where Grantaire made scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. They ate in silence. They just stared at each other, into each other's eyes and at each other's lips. 

"So what are we doing today?" Enjolras asked.  
"Well, you've never been to London before so I thought we'd do some sightseeing. We're doing all the usual stuff, and then Madame Tussaud's and The London Dungeons. Do you want to go to the Aquarium?"   
"Do we have time?"   
"Of course we do. Everything's been planned and we have a few hours free. So Aquarium, or one of the museums? The Natural History Museum has dinosaurs?"  
"I think I'd prefer the Aquarium?"  
"We'll go there then!" 

They both showered and got dressed. Enjolras wore the Miss Saigon tshirt that Grantaire had bought him the day before. They got on the tube and got to the Tower of London. They walked round for a while, Enjolras reading every single information sign and looking at everything. The queue to see the Crown Jewels was too long, and Grantaire's schedule wouldn't allow enough time, so they skipped that and got on a riverboat at Tower Bridge. 

Madame Tussaud's was exciting for them both, as neither had seen the new Benedict Cumberbatch waxwork. Also, all the Marvel waxworks. They had Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor... But guess what?

"No Black Widow." Enjolras mumbled, disappointed. "Why is Nat never included?"  
"I know! It's completely stupid. She's amazing. Natasha Romanoff is just as much an Avenger as Captain America and she deserves a waxwork." Grantaire raised his voice slightly so the lady at the door would hear him. 

By the time they'd finished doing everything Grantaire had said, it was almost seven o'clock in the evening. They'd just come out of the Aquarium, Enjolras clutching a stuffed dolphin toy Grantaire had bought him and holding a bag which contained the greenscreen photos from the London Dungeons and the Aquarium. 

Grantaire grabbed Enjolras's hand. "And one more thing before we have dinner."  
"Yes?" Enjolras replied, glancing hopefully at the London Eye. Grantaire pulled him towards the queue and Enjolras went to stand at the end of the long line of people.  
"Oh no, we're not queuing. We've got a private pod. Nobody with us, just you and me."  
"Really?"   
"Only the best for my beautiful boyfriend." Grantaire grinned, leading a blushing Enjolras to where they got on.

As they started moving upwards, the sun began to set over the city. Enjolras gazed out at the view. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"  
"Yeah, it is."   
"Is this really happening? Am I really here? With you? And are we really holding hands and do you really love me or is this all an amazing dream that I'm going to wake up from back at home?" Enjolras stared half out the window and half at Grantaire.  
"Is this really happening? I don't know. Are we dreaming? I don't know either. But I do know that I am madly in love with you. And even if you we do wake up alone tomorrow, you'll know that I am in love with you."  
"Promise?"  
"I promise."  
"I promise too, that I love you." Then their lips met again, only briefly because Grantaire pushed Enjolras away.  
"You can't be kissing me when there's so much to see out there. Go and look at it."  
"But I want to kiss you." Enjolras was about to do puppy dog eyes, before he remembered that those didn't work on Grantaire.  
"You'll have all the time in the world to kiss me later."

They did eventually end up kissing. And they were stood, Enjolras's arms in Grantaire's hair and Grantaire hugging Enjolras tightly so there was no space between them, lips locked together when the photo was taken. 

Grantaire loved the photo.   
"Can. I buy number 2460 please?"  
"Yes, of course." The girl at the photo counter pressed a button that printed the photo. As she picked it up to hand it to Grantaire she paused. "Oh my god, you guys are so adorable!"   
"Thanks." Grantaire replied.  
"How long have you been together?"  
"About a day... But we've been friends for ages and I've loved him since forever." Grantaire squeezed his boyfriend's hand.  
"Same, I told him yesterday, and I'm so glad I did because I love him so much." Enjolras kissed Grantaire's cheek and the girl handed the photo to Grantaire, who thanked her.

After dinner they went back to Grantaire's house. They cuddled on the sofa and watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Grantaire cried a lot, at 'Who the hell is Bucky?' and ' I'm with you til the end of the line.'

"How many languages can you speak?" Grantaire asked quietly when the film had finished.  
"Three: Swedish, English and French. Do you speak anything else?"  
"French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Japanese. Also I can do sign language."  
"Really? That's cool. My friends and I are all trying to learn sign language. Musichetta is deaf in one ear and she's having an operation on the other that'll make her completely unable to hear. So we're all learning sign language. Combeferre and Marius have already mastered it, her boyfriends are almost there-"  
"Hang on, boyfriends?" Grantaire asked, intrigued.  
"Yeah, boyfriends. They all love each other and they're happy and we don't judge things like that."   
"Ah, cool. Neither do I, I was just checking I heard right. So what are your other friends like?"  
"They're all awesome. There's twelve of us: me, Cosette and her boyfriend, Marius, Jehan, Éponine and her sister, Azelma, Feuilly, Musichetta and her boyfriends, Joly and Bossuet, and my best friends since preschool, Combeferre and Courfeyrac. Ferre and Courf are the most sickeningly adorable couple ever. Courf and Jehan are both pansexual, Jehan's genderfluid, Cosette, Joly and Bossuet are bi, Chetta and Ép are straight and Éponine is aromantic and transgender, Marius is asexual but madly in love with my sister and Combeferre, Azelma and I are all gay. How about your friends? What are they like?"  
"I only have one. Their name is Bahorel, they're a demiboy. We've been friends for five years. They're cool." Grantaire smiled sadly.

Enjolras decided not to ask why Grantaire only had one other friend. It seemed to upset him. So instead he snuggled closer to his boyfriend and kissed him.

"I don't want to leave." Enjolras whispered against Grantaire's neck. Grantaire pulled him closer and kissed his forehead.   
"I don't want you to leave either."


	9. Chapter 9

When they woke up, neither wanted to move. They just wanted to stay still, cuddled up together forever. Enjolras didn't want to go home and Grantaire didn't want him to go. They had just six more hours together before Enjolras had to check in at the airport.

Enjolras woke up first, his head on Grantaire's bare chest. Grantaire had one arm wrapped around Enjolras and the other hand stroking his boyfriend's hair. He mumbled quietly in his sleep. Enjolras could barely understand most of what he was saying, but what he could hear sounded like his name. When Grantaire woke up, he smiled sadly. Less than six hours.

"Morning, Enjolras." He whispered.  
"Good morning, Taire." Enjolras kissed him softly and then snuggled back into his chest.  
"What do you want to do today?"  
"Cuddle."  
"Apart from cuddling?"  
"Kiss you."  
"Apart from kissing and cuddling?"  
"I don't mind, as long as I'm with you and you don't let go of my hand." Enjolras wasn't usually cheesy, but he thought a little cheesiness would be okay because they only had five and a half hours left before they were parted again for who knows how long.

Grantaire was cooking breakfast when Enjolras slid his arms around him and put his head on his shoulder.  
"How long before I can see you again?" Grantaire said, leaning into Enjolras's embrace.  
"You could come to me, meet my friends, and Cosette."   
"Yeah, I'd love to. I like your sister, she's cool."  
"I'm going to miss this." Enjolras whispered against Grantaire's neck, hugging him tighter.  
"Me too. Tomorrow you'll be worlds away. I'm going to miss you so much."  
"We can still skype. It'll be like before."  
"It'll be worse than before. Before you were someone I skyped and talked to almost every day, and I couldn't miss being with you because I'd never been with you. But now I know how it feels to kiss you, cuddle you, hold your hand. How your head fits perfectly between my shoulder and neck, how you seem to snuggle closer to me when you're sleeping. I'm going to miss you so much Enj." Grantaire turned around and pulled Enjolras into his arms. "I'm in love with you, you know that?"  
"I know. I know you're in love with me and I'm in love with you too. I love you so much."  
"How much?"  
"This much." Enjolras smirked, pushing Grantaire against the fridge and kissing him. He kissed with urgency, like it was the last time they'd kiss for a long time- which, of course, it was. 

Grantaire held Enjolras's face, making sure there was no space between their lips. After a while he moved his hands so they were tangled in Enjolras's silky golden hair. Enjolras's only tightened his arms around Grantaire's waist, pulling him closer and closer while they kissed. They ended up cuddling, Enjolras's hands on Grantaire's back and Grantaire whispering soft "I love you"s in his ear.

Enjolras's phone rang as they were about to get in the car.   
"Enjolras, are you back yet?" It was Marius, sounding anxious.   
"Nope, I'm about to drive to the airport. What's wrong?"  
"I need to ask you something, it's really important. I thought you were back."  
"No, sorry buddy. You could just ask me now?"   
"I've got to ask you in person. It's really important."  
"You've said. Well I'll be back in four hours, if everything's on time. I could meet you then if it's that important?" Enjolras offered, confused.  
"How about I pick you up from the airport and ask you then?" Marius asked desperately.  
"Cosette was going to, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind. I'll text her."   
"Okay, thanks. Don't tell her that I want to ask you something. Just maybe say that Ferre and Courf wanted to see you straight away and I offered to drive. Or don't mention me at all. Just Ferre and Courf are picking you up. Or just Courfeyrac? That's fine. As long as you don't say that I want to ask you an important question or anything important at all, alright?" Marius sounded slightly scared.  
"Yeah, wow, of course. Okay. I'll text you when I get off the plane. It should land at ten."  
"Okay, good, cool. See you then."

Enjolras and Grantaire spent the journey to the airport talking about when they would see each other next. Grantaire pulled into the short stay car park, then they got out of the car and began walking towards the airport, Enjolras pulling his suitcase behind him. 

"Tell me I don't have to go." Enjolras looked at Grantaire, his eyes begging him to let him stay. "Tell me I don't have to leave you, Taire."  
"Enjolras, as much as I wish you could stay, you have to go back. You've got school, and your friend seemed pretty anxious to see you. I'll see you soon. And you can skype me when you get home if you want." Grantaire took Enjolras's hand and squeezed it. "You'll be okay. We'll sort out dates and all that tomorrow. I promise it won't be more than a month."  
"I don't want to go." Enjolras blinked back tears as they neared the gates.   
"Enjolras, I-" Grantaire was cut off by Enjolras's lips on his. It was a short kiss, but it was enough to make Grantaire realise just how much he was going to miss him. "I love you."  
"I love you too, Taire." Enjolras said, clinging onto his boyfriend. He turned and walked towards the check in gates, scanned his boarding pass and walked through, looking back at Grantaire one last time.

Grantaire watched Enjolras disappear into the crowd of people on the other side of the gates, and he missed him already.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey buddy, I just got off the plane. I told Cosette that Courf is picking me up."   
"Okay, I'm outside, just at the pick up point. How long are you going to be."  
"Depends how long Passport Control takes. Probably about twenty minutes?"  
"Okay, see you then." Marius hung up. 

Twenty five minutes later, Enjolras emerged from the airport crowd and knocked on Marius's car window. Marius jumped, surprised, then hopped out of the car to greet his friend. They drove out of the airport and started the journey home to Enjolras's.

"So this important question..." Enjolras prompted, having been pondering what it could be on the plane. He had a few ideas, but he hadn't thought of what was coming next. Having never had a relationship (besides Grantaire, of course), he didn't realise what every other person would assume straight away.

"I've already asked your parents, but I thought I should ask you too." Marius looked nervous.  
"Go on..." Enjolras was still completely oblivious.  
"I want to ask your sister, Cosette, the most beautiful and wonderful girl I've ever met," he paused, "to marry me."  
Enjolras could hardly get words out.  
"We've been together for four years now, and I can't and don't want to imagine life without her. It'll be exactly four years tomorrow, which is when I'd like to ask... But I wanted your permission first. It would mean a lot to me, I'm sure to both of us."  
"Oh my god, Marius! Of course you can ask her. She'll be delighted, over the moon. You asked our parents as well?"  
"Well it's traditional to ask the father for the daughter's hand in marriage, but I thought it would be rude to leave your mother out. So I asked them both a few weeks ago. Your father started crying, it scared me. I thought he was going to say no. But of course they said yes. Courfeyrac helped me choose the ring. Do you want to see it?" Marius could hardly keep the words in. The were just pouring out his mouth in excitement. 

Enjolras nodded, then Marius reached into his pocket and brought out a little black box. He opened it to reveal a silver ring with tiny diamonds encrusted in the band and a huge rectangular purple stone in the middle. It was beautiful.

"Wow, it's gorgeous. She's going to adore it."  
"You sure?"  
"Absolutely. Purple's her favourite colour. And the ring is beautiful."  
"Not as beautiful as her."  
"True. When are you going to ask?"  
"Tomorrow evening. We always do something on dating anniversaries. So I'm taking her out for dinner and then we'll go to the park, the one with the hill that you can see the stars from. Then I'll ask her."  
"Sounds wonderful. She'll no doubt give me a blow by blow account of everything. Good luck!"

When they reached home, Enjolras's parents greeted him at the door.  
"I thought you said Courfeyrac was picking you up?" Fantine said, hugging him.  
"That's what I told Cosette. Marius wanted to ask my permission... For Cosette... You know?" He whispered.  
"Oh, he is such a sweet boy. I'm so glad Cosette has him. He makes her so happy." She sighed happily.  
"He showed me the ring. It's so pretty. He loves her so much." Enjolras grinned.  
"Speaking of love, how are you and your boy? Grantaire?" Jean butted in.  
"Well, I'm no longer single..."   
"Has my little boy got a boyfriend? It's too much for an old woman like me, all these boyfriends. First my daughter's boyfriend asks me for permission to marry her and then my son flies off to England to meet his first boyfriend! It's so exciting! When can I meet him?" Fantine almosted extremely excited. She'd been waiting for the day her son would meet someone.  
"Did I hear boyfriend?" Cosette came bounding down the stairs and flew into her brother's arms. "Tell me everything!"

They went upstairs, into Enjolras's room and sat on his bed.   
"So... From the moment you saw him:"  
"Well, I got off the plane and went through all the airport and then at the bit where all the taxi drivers wait with signs, he had a sign and it said my name and I saw it, then I saw him and I started running and he stood there with his arms open and he picked me up and span me round and we stood there hugging in the middle of the airport."  
Cosette squealed.   
"Then we got in his car and he told me about Miss Saigon. And we drove to his house and got changed and he took me out for dinner at this really posh restaurant and then we went to the theatre and we found our seats and we almost kissed but then the show started. I held his hand and he didn't let go until he had to drive the car. Then when we got to his house and we changed into our pyjamas and then he made hot chocolate and," he paused, remembering, "and I told him I am in love with him. And he seemed shocked and then he told me he's in love with me as well and we kissed for ages."

"Did you sleep with him?" Cosette wiggled her eyebrows.  
"Yeah."  
"Enjolras! Oh my god! My little brother had sex with-" she whisper yelled so their parents wouldn't hear.  
"No! No, no, no! We slept in the same bed. That was it."  
Cosette's face fell. "But did you cuddle?"  
"Of course!"  
"Details, brother, details! Did you have your arms around him, were you facing each other, did he pull you closer while you were sleeping?"  
"My head was on his chest and he had his arms around me and in the morning I was on top of him and he woke me by kissing me and then we kissed and we got up and had breakfast and did sightseeing. And we kissed on the London Eye!"

Enjolras blinked back a few tears. "I miss him so much."  
"Oh I know, honey, I know. You've got skype, and did you take any pictures?" Cosette asked, putting an arm round Enjolras's shoulders.   
"Yeah, there's loads on my phone, and the ones from the aquarium and things and the kissing one on the London Eye." Enjolras opened his suitcase and pulled out the bag of photos. 

When Cosette had left, Enjolras emptied his suitcase and put everything either in the washing machine or in a drawer. At the bottom, he found something that wasn't his. He pulled out Grantaire's dark green hoodie. It smelled like him. A note fell out of the pocket.

To my beautiful Enjolras, 

You didn't get cold enough for me to give you my hoodie, but I figured it might get cold before I see you next, so this is my favourite hoodie. I love it a lot so don't lose it. I miss you so much. I love you a lot, Enjolras, and I can't wait to see you again. I love you more than anything else in the whole wide world. 

Yours (and always yours), Grantaire 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Enjolras! How was your flight?" Grantaire asked, gazing at his boyfriend through the laptop screen.   
"It was good. I didn't like flying away from you though." Enjolras wanted Grantaire to appear and cuddle him.  
"I wish you didn't have to."   
"I miss you so much." Enjolras didn't bother holding back the tears.   
"God, don't cry sweetheart. Don't cry, because if you cry, I'll cry. I miss you too. I wish I could be there to cuddle you."  
"I love you, Taire."   
"I love you more. I love you to the moon and back." Grantaire could feel the tears coming.  
"When can I see you again?"  
"When are you free?"  
"Most of the time, though my parents are going away in three weeks. It's my mum's fortieth birthday, so they're going to Spain for the week. Mum's always wanted to go to Barcelona. They leave June 28th and come back July 7th. My classes finish two days before they leave. Can you come then?"  
"Of course I can. I'll book the plane now." Grantaire reached for his phone and started tapping. "Where am I flying to?"  
"Stockholm. I'll pick you up from the airport. Then we'll have the house almost to ourselves. Cosette will probably stay with Marius for the week. She can't cook and hates my cooking. But Marius studied food for two years and he's a chef. He's going to open his own restaurant one day. And she loves him and wants to spend time with him. She might pop in from time to time. But otherwise, just us." Enjolras grinned, excited.  
"Flight's booked. I'll see you in three weeks."  
"I can't wait." Enjolras reached out to touch Grantaire's face, then realised that he was, once again, just an image on his laptop.  
"Me neither. I love you Enj. So much."

After spending half an hour talking about how much they loved each other, Enjolras went to bed. He could hardly sleep though, because his pillow was soft, whereas Grantaire's chest was warm and firm. And only his blanket was hugging him, not Grantaire's strong and protective arms. Grantaire couldn't sleep either. He was cold without Enjolras laying over half his body with his head tucked under Grantaire's chin. After only two nights of sleeping together, they could barely sleep because they didn't have each other.


	11. Chapter 11

Enjolras sat at his desk, writing an essay. He had the soundtrack from The Pianist (one of his favourite films) playing in his headphones. It was a completely normal day, a disappointing aftermath of the best three days of his life. But this was just normal. Plain, boring, normal. At least it was, until Enjolras heard something he had never before heard in his life. 

"Enjolras," Cosette yelled, "help!" His sister was not someone who usually asked for help. So if she was yelling for him, something bad was happening. He ripped out his headphones and rushed into her room.  
"What happened? Are you okay?" Enjolras was ready to spring into action.   
"I don't know what to wear." Anticlimactic, but still something Enjolras never thought he'd hear. "I don't know what to wear. I'm going out with Marius and he said we're going out for dinner somewhere nice and I don't know what to wear."  
"How about that dress I got you?"   
"I wore it yesterday. I would've worn it today but I wanted to wear it yesterday because I went out with Jehan and Azelma."  
"Oh."  
"I need something nice, but casual, but not too casual. That I've not worn too much. I could've got something new! But then I didn't." Cosette went through her wardrobe again, but to no avail.   
"Well isn't it just wonderful," Enjolras paused, "that while I was in London..."  
Cosette turned round to face him, excited.  
"I saw this gorgeous dress in the window of a shop. I wasn't going to get it, because I'd already got you a present. But I think you'd prefer that one to the one I bought."  
She looked confused.  
"But my boyfriend, who you sent me over to meet, pointed out that he hadn't got you a present. I said he didn't need to. But he wanted to. So we went in. And we bought it." Enjolras ran back into his room to retrieve the dress.

He handed the bag to Cosette, who pulled out the dress and held it up. A smile slid onto her previously worried face. "It's beautiful. Wow! I love it, oh my god. He didn't have to do this, this is gorgeous!"   
"Do you want me to go out while you try it on?" Enjolras offered.  
"Yeah, I'll call you when I'm changed." Enjolras walked out before Cosette replied. She started pulling off her dressing gown- she'd just got out the shower- and getting changed into the dress. "Okay, you can come in!"  
She twirled happily. "I love it so much."  
"You look wonderful."  
"Can we skype Grantaire? I want to say thank you!"

An hour and a half later, Marius pulled up in his car, hopped out and knocked on the door, holding a bunch of purple tulips. When Cosette opened the door, his jaw dropped because she looked so beautiful. He held out the flowers.  
"Happy four year anniversary of us dating, Cosette." He smiled, blushing. Cosette leaned forward and pecked his cheek. 

They spent the day together, holding hands and talking and telling each other how much they love each other. They went to dinner at a posh restaurant with a nice view. They shared an ice cream, then went to the park.

It was about eight o'clock, and the park was deserted, apart from an elderly couple in their seventies who came for a walk every night. The stars were out, and it wasn't too cold. Marius still offered Cosette his jacket, because he didn't want her to catch a cold. When they got to the top of the hill, Marius dropped Cosette's hand and started fumbling in his pocket. 

"Are you okay?" Cosette asked, concerned.  
"I'm fine, better than fine. Just a little nervous." Marius but his lip, smiling.  
"Why are you nervous?

"Cosette, I've known you for eight years now. I've been in love with you for seven and we've been together for four. Four years... Well it's a long time. And in the four years I've been with you, there hasn't been a day when I've not thought, 'I am so lucky to have her'. And I realised that I don't ever want there to be a day that I can't think that. I want to wake up every day for the rest of my life, knowing that the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful lady I have ever met loves me as much as I love her. There will never come a day when I am not in love with you." Marius got down on one knee and opened the small box he held in his hand. Cosette's mouth opened in surprise and awe as she say the ring. "So, Cosette Isobella Valjean, will you marry me?"  
"Yes!" Cosette nodded several times, beaming. "Yes! Marius, I love you so much!"  
A few tears slid down Cosette's cheeks, and Marius started crying as well as he slid the ring onto Cosette's finger. It fit perfectly, which was probably down to Courfeyrac going shopping with her and finding out her ring size for Marius. 

Once the ring was on, they kissed. Cosette stood on her tiptoes with her arms round Marius's neck and he held her waist, smiling as he kissed his fiancée.

On the way back to Cosettes's house, they could hardly contain their happiness. Cosette wanted to scream and squeal and dance around and Marius wanted to yell 'I have the most beautiful fiancée in the world!' so everyone would know that he's engaged.   
"Mum and Dad and Enjolras are going to be so surprised!" Cosette grinned.  
"Actually, no. They're not."   
"Why not?" Cosette fake frowned.  
"Well I asked your parents' permission a few weeks ago. And I picked Enjolras up from the airport so I could ask him if it was okay. They all said yes, of course. I knew they would. But I wanted their permission first." Marius smiled and took Cosette's hand as he parked.  
Cosette giggled and blushed, leaning over to kiss Marius again.


	12. Chapter 12

"How long have you been here?"  
"Three hours."  
"What time did you get here yesterday? How long were you here for?"  
"Half three. Stayed 'til seven."  
"And you did nothing but drink?"  
"Went home after. Skyped him. Slept."  
"You can't keep doing this." 

Bahorel sat down, pulling Grantaire's glass away from him.   
"Doing what?" Grantaire asked, reaching to take his drink back.  
"Drinking whenever you're sad or alone. You can't go back to alcohol every time you miss someone. He didn't even leave you. You'll see him again soon enough. But the drink isn't good for you, R."  
"Three weeks." Grantaire slouched and leant even more on his arm.  
"What?"  
"Three weeks, then I'm going to Sweden. I've gotta last three weeks without him."  
"You'll be okay. You'll be fine R, but you got to stop the drinking."  
"I've not felt this way about anybody, and nobody has actually cared about me since... Since... You know. So, I'm sorry if I miss him, but nobody's been like that with me for so long and I just want it back, okay? I want him back now. Not in three weeks. Now. And I'm not, as you can clearly see, coping very well. It only takes a little bit of something to get you addicted to it." Grantaire paused, looking Bahorel in the eye. "I'm not going to lie. I have an addiction to alcohol, because it relieved the hurt when he left, and since then it just makes me feel better. Well not better as such, just different. I'm addicted to alcohol. And I'm also addicted to Enjolras: his face, his voice, his smell, his lips, the way he cuddles too tightly and smiles so much that we can't kiss properly because he can't stop smiling. I'm pretty sure he's Apollo in human form, an actual sun god. I need him back." Grantaire buried his face in his arms as a tear rolled slowly down his cheek.   
"Three weeks, mate." Bahorel patted him awkwardly on the back. "I know you're in love, but it's only three weeks."

The three weeks passed slowly. Enjolras was in lectures most of the time, but all the time he didn't spend frantically taking notes or writing essays, he spent thinking about Grantaire, missing him. Even being with his friends didn't help. He was still miserable being so far away from his boyfriend.

"Enj, cheer up, will you?" Courfeyrac laughed, punching his arm jokingly.   
"I know you're sad, but just try to enjoy this afternoon." Combeferre put an arm around Enjolras, squeezing him a little before letting go. You would've thought that spending time with your two best friends would help, but it didn't. Enjolras saw Combeferre and Courfeyrac, so happy and in love, and envied them. He didn't dislike them. He love his friends with all his heart. He was just jealous. They lived together, ate together, went to out together, saw their friends together, slept together in each other's arms. Every day. All the things Enjolras wouldn't be able to do with Grantaire unless one of them moved countries.

"Right, you're missing Grantaire. I know that. But there's something else as well." Courfeyrac said, sitting down with their drinks at the little café in the shopping centre. "And don't try to tell me it's just that because it's not. We've known you for fifteen years, Enj. We can tell when there's something bothering you."  
"You can talk to us. Just tell us what's wrong and we'll do whatever we can." Combeferre looked Enjolras in the eye, encouraging him to talk.

"I miss Grantaire, I miss him so much. You would never understand. You've lived with each other for three years. You're with each other every day and there's literally nothing that can keep you apart. You can call each other cute names and kiss and cuddle whenever you want and you can walk down the street holding hands. You can cuddle while you're sleeping and you can tell each other you love each other and watch each other get all happy and flustered. You can be with each other... Properly. I can't have that with Grantaire. I can never have that with Grantaire- not unless one of us moves to the other. And I can't do that because I have school and friends and family and he can't do that either. So we're stuck apart. And I just think about it constantly, and then look up to see you two kissing and being affectionate and being... together and it just hurts because I want that and I can't have it."

Enjolras looked down at his coffee, blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill over. His best friends glanced at each other, wanting to hug him but knowing that he didn't want to be hugged by anyone but his boyfriend at that moment.

"Enj, we had no idea it bothered you so much. I'm so sorry. We'll tone it down for the next few weeks. Then he'll be here and you'll be with him." Combeferre reached out and patted Enjolras's shoulder.  
"You only have eighteen days until you see him again. That's seventeen more nights. It's not long, honey." Courfeyrac attempted to comfort him. "Not long at all."


	13. Chapter 13

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed in Stockholm where the local time is 10:27pm. We hope you enjoyed your flight and hope to see you again soon. Once again, thank you for flying with us." The plane came to a halt and people began to stand up and retrieve their suitcases. Grantaire would usually have waited until the aisle was less crowded, but he didn't want to wait a second longer. He grabbed his case and followed the rest of the passengers to the door. There was an elderly lady at the top of the stairs holding the handle of a purple and green spotted suitcase.

"Excuse me," Grantaire said, "do you need any help with that?"  
The lady smiled as Grantaire lifted her case to the bottom of the stairs. "Thank you, young man."  
"You're welcome." He offered to pull the suitcase the rest of the way out of the airport.  
"You are not from here. Who are you visiting?" The lady asked.  
"My boyfriend. I've not seen him in three weeks. He's picking me up." Grantaire grinned, excited.  
"How lovely. He is Swedish?"   
"Yes, he is."  
"My wife is Swedish, also. Sweden is a lovely country. I am from Russia, but moved here to be with my wife."  
"That's so sweet. How long have you been married?"  
"Six years, but we have been together for sixty. We were one of the first lesbian couples married in Sweden." The lady said proudly.

They got through border control and walked out of the arrivals gate together. The lady thanked Grantaire for his help with her purple and green spotted suitcase and left him to look for his boyfriend. 

Grantaire had been searching for a grand total of twelve seconds before a flash of red and gold sped towards him and a person fell into his arms. He stood in shock for a moment before Enjolras squeezed him tighter and Grantaire wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.   
"I love you Enjolras." Grantaire whispered, pulling away from the hug and putting his hands on Enjolras's smiling face. They leaned in for a kiss and when their lips met, both men's hearts were once again set aflame. Their eyes were open, Grantaire staring into Enjolras's chocolatey whirlpools and Enjolras staring into his crystal blue ones. 

"I love you too Grantaire." Enjolras smiled when they pulled apart, his arms still wound around his boyfriend's neck. "I've missed you so much."  
Grantaire pulled Enjolras towards him again, one hand holding his head and the other on his back, hugging him tightly. "Enj... Enjolras... Oh god, I've missed you so much. I love you so much, sweetheart, so much."  
Enjolras blushed and smiled into Grantaire's shoulder. 

Fifteen minutes later, they got into Cosette's car. Enjolras didn't own a car yet. He was saving for one, but in the meantime he used his sister's. He had a motorbike (which he was going to sell at some point), but didn't have an extra helmet so didn't want Grantaire on it.

Enjolras was about to sit down when he realised that he'd left Grantaire's hoodie on the driver's seat. He passed it to Grantaire and turned on the engine. He drove carefully (Cosette may have killed him if he got a scratch on her Impala- which she affectionately called 'Baby'). Grantaire pulled the hoodie over his head.  
"I've missed this as well. I love this hoodie." Grantaire said, inhaling the scent of it. "But it's smell changed! It used to smell like home, but now it smells... Like you. I love it even more."  
"I've been wearing it a lot. I hope you don't mind. I wear it when I'm studying or writing essays. It helps me concentrate, I don't know why."   
"I love it too. I'll make a deal with you: I'll wear it this week and then you can wear it until I see you again."  
"Deal." Enjolras held out his hand for Grantaire to shake.  
"No, deals like this have to be agreed with a kiss." Grantaire smirked.  
Enjolras looked back to the road. "Well, you'll have to wait until we get home because I'm driving and I don't want to kill us both, but more importantly Cosette may kill us both if I hurt it."  
"Hurt it? You can't hurt a car, babe. Cars don't have feelings."   
"Her exact words were: 'Enjolras, I swear to you I will kill you if you hurt my Baby at all.'"

By the time they reached Enjolras's house, it was eleven o'clock. Enjolras took Grantaire upstairs, into his room. The walls were covered with posters and photos, and two photo frames stood in the sea of paper, pens and pencils on the desk. In one was a photograph of Enjolras, Courfeyrac and Combeferre, all grinning happily at the camera. The photo looked about four years old, which would have made Enjolras around sixteen. The blonde boy in the photo resembled his current self, but he had a carefree look about him that had been lost over the years.

In the other frame was a photo of Enjolras and Grantaire, snuggled together on the sofa. It was taken on Enjolras's birthday, the night they'd first confessed their feelings to each other. Enjolras had pulled away from their kiss, grabbed Grantaire's phone and taken the photo. They were looking at each other whilst half turned towards the camera and they were smiling. Enjolras was almost glowing with happiness, Grantaire noticed.

As he looked around, Grantaire noticed that there were many more pictures of him on Enjolras's walls. One of the walls was completely covered with posters: Avengers, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Miss Saigon and Tom Hiddleston amongst them. The wall to the side of his bed was full of photographs. Along the top of the wall, by the ceiling, there were several photos of a younger Enjolras and Cosette. Many of the more recent images, and all those of Grantaire, were in the corner by the bed.

"My photo wall... The ones down here," he gestured towards the bed corner, "are my favourites, the most important ones. I can look at them when I'm in bed. Look."

Enjolras pulled Grantaire onto his bed, laying so they were both facing the wall. "There's my favourite photo of me and my friends. You can meet them on Tuesday. There's my parents' wedding day. Mum looked so beautiful, I mean, she still is beautiful. But more so there. That's Courfeyrac and Combeferre."  
"And this one?" Grantaire pointed to a picture of three boys and a little girl. Enjolras laughed and blushed.   
"Me, Cosette, Combeferre and Courfeyrac. We were eight. That was the day we pretended we were rockstars. That's Cosette, well, obviously. That's Courfeyrac with the guitar. Ferre is the one in the red high heel boots. That was hilarious. And that's me. Our band," he paused, chucking, "was called Enjolras and the C Crew. Their names are all C's."  
Grantaire laughed.  
"And these... They're us. These two are my favourites: the London Eye and the one you took." Grantaire had Enjolras's phone, Enjolras had his arms wrapped around his boyfriend's waist and he was kissing his cheek while Grantaire smiled into the camera. 

"I can't be bothered to get changed." Enjolras groaned, rolling over and snuggling into Grantaire.   
"Me neither, but we can't sleep in jeans."   
"We could just take them off and sleep in pants?" Enjolras suggested.

Both of them kicked of their jeans and pulled off their hoodies and shirts, then Enjolras hit the light switch and they tried to sleep. Enjolras was nestled cozily in the crook of Grantaire's neck while the latter held him tightly, never wanting to let go again.


	14. Chapter 14

They spent most of the next day cuddling and kissing. They watched a couple of films and an episode of Doctor Who, but other than that they did nothing. Enjolras was just happy to be back in his boyfriend's arms, which was where he stayed all day. They fell asleep on the sofa, Enjolras laying on top of Grantaire, using his chest as a pillow and his heartbeat as a lullaby.

Grantaire woke alone. He wasn't worried at all, until he smelt burning. He darted off of the sofa and into the hallway, where he saw smoke slithering out from behind the kitchen door.  
"Enjolras!" He yelled. He burst into the kitchen. 

The whole scene was quite comical. Grantaire was stood by the door, looking shocked but amused. His boyfriend was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen table, his hands, arms, shoulders and pretty much everything beneath his neck were all covered in flour. He was staring angrily at a pan on the stove, the contents of which was on fire. He didn't even acknowledge Grantaire's sudden appearance, just continued to glare at the pan. His boyfriend moved to the pan, put out the fire, then approached him slowly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Enj... What happened?" He queried.  
"I was making pancakes and it didn't work."  
"And you burned them?"  
"No. They set fire to themselves like the stupid things they are." Enjolras replied indignantly.  
"So, what we've learnt today is that you can't cook either." Grantaire laughed, making Enjolras frown.

After Grantaire had made pancakes for both of them, Enjolras attempted to wash all of the flour out of his hair. He trudged along the landing in defeat, and Grantaire had to help him wash it out. ("How the hell did you get flour in you hair anyway, Enj?")

Eventually, they left the house. Enjolras wore a white tshirt with the TARDIS on it and his red coat and Grantaire had on his hoodie and black jeans. They were headed to the Café Musain to meet Enjolras's friends. As they rounded the corner of the street, Grantaire paused.  
"Enjolras, do I look okay?" He whispered worriedly.  
Enjolras looked confused. "You look fine, more than fine actually."   
"No, but do I look okay? I'm meeting all your friends."  
"Taire, you look beautiful. They're just my friends anyway, it's not like you're meeting my parents. My friends aren't going to care what you're wearing."   
"What if they don't like me?"  
"They'll like you, don't worry. And they know how much I love you, so even if they didn't like you- which they will, I promise- they'll be fine because I love you and they like me." Enjolras reassured him.  
"Okay."   
"I warn you they're a bit odd at times. And embarrassing. So just ignore them if they start being weird."

When they walked into the café, everyone was already there. Courfeyrac, as usual, was sitting on Combeferre's lap. Marius held Cosette's hand on the table, stroking his thumb over the ring on her finger every so often. Éponine sat with Jehan, who wore a flowery dress, and Azelma. Joly sat with his arms around Musichetta and Bossuet. Feuilly had just sat down. 

"Hi everyone. This is Grantaire, my boyfriend. Taire, this is Combeferre, and his boyfriend Courfeyrac on his lap." Both gave a cheery wave. "Marius and Cosette, my sister. They're engaged. Bossuet, his boyfriend, Joly, and their girlfriend Musichetta."  
"Just call me Chetta, it's less of a mouthful." She interrupted.  
Enjolras continued. "Éponine and Azelma, sisters. Azelma is completely deaf now, so if you want to say anything to her, sign. We all try to sign everything we say as well." Enjolras had been signing everything he'd said, and Musichetta had signed when she talked. Grantaire signed 'hi, nice to meet you.'  
"Nice to meet you too. I can still talk, by the way." Azelma said.  
'Im glad.' Grantaire smiled.

"Jehan, what type of day is it?"   
"She/her."   
"Alright. This is Jehan. She/her pronouns today please. And this is Feuilly. He's autistic, and he has this awesome ability."  
Feuilly grinned. "Name any date, ever."   
"15th September 2001."  
"Saturday, I believe."  
"22nd of August 1999?"  
"Sunday."  
"Wow. That's amazing." Grantaire grinned back at Feuilly. 

"Please don't be embarrassing. This means a lot to me, okay? I really love him." Enjolras whispered in Swedish. (Musichetta signed under the table so Azelma could understand.)  
"You really love him? We didn't notice! It's not like he's the only thing you ever talk about!" Courfeyrac knew sarcasm really annoyed Enjolras.   
"Just try not to scare him off. Please."   
"You're the scary one." Cosette laughed.   
"Yeah, Enjolras," Grantaire smirked as he spoke in Swedish, having understood every bit of the short conversation Enjolras had tried to keep secret. "You're absolutely terrifying."

"You understood that?" Enjolras leaned back in his seat, talking in English again.  
"Every word." Grantaire put his arm around his boyfriend, pulling him closer and kissing his temple. "I had nothing to do in those three weeks, so I learnt Swedish. Sorry."  
"Don't apologise. It's great. I mean, I can't have secret conversations with this lot apparently, but it's still great. I love you."  
"I love you too, sweetheart." Grantaire whispered as Enjolras leaned his head on his shoulder.

"Oh not you two as well!" Éponine complained. "There's enough disgusting romance going on in this room. Marius is completely besotted with his girlfriend-"  
"Fiancée!" Marius chimed in.  
"Fiancée. And then there's them," she pointed to Courfeyrac, who was sitting on Combeferre and kissing his cheek and jaw, "constantly sickening me with their kissing and ridiculous nicknames."  
"Hey! They're not ridiculous, are they, Marshmallow?" Combeferre frowned.  
"No, they're not, Sugar." 

"Moving on! Enjolras, how are you coping at home by yourself? How's food been?" Cosette smirked, knowing Enjolras couldn't cook to save his life.   
"Food's been fine. I can look after myself, you know?" Enjolras glared at his sister.  
"Liar!" Grantaire chuckled. "Do you not remember what happened this morning?"  
Cosette grinned, leaning towards Grantaire and raising her eyebrows as if to say 'go on'.

"I may have been woken up this morning by the fire alarm... And I may have rushed into the kitchen to find Enjolras covered in flour... And he may have been glaring at a pan... And that pan may have been on fire..." Grantaire glanced sideways at his boyfriend, a grin on his face. Enjolras looked less than pleased. The others burst out laughing as he turned a deep shade of pink. He buried his face in his boyfriend's neck.

They laughed, chatted and ate cake for another couple of hours. Before they left, Enjolras needed a wee and got up to go to the toilet. Combeferre tapped Grantaire's shoulder lightly. 

"Grantaire, I thought you should know, this is the happiest I've ever seen Enjolras. He has a look about him when he's with you, I can't quite put my finger on what it is but it wasn't there before. He loves you. He really does." Combeferre smiled wisely.  
"And I love him too." Grantaire blushed a little, but smiled because he loved Enjolras and Enjolras loved him.


	15. Chapter 15

"You're so beautiful... Enjolras, you're so beautiful." Grantaire mumbled against Enjolras's jaw, having pinned him to his bed as they changed into their pyjamas. Enjolras had almost got his shirt on when his boyfriend had come up behind him and started kissing his neck. The shirt quickly came back off.

As Grantaire was kissing his jaw and mumbling about how beautiful he was, Enjolras was fumbling with the buttons on the other man's onesie. It was hard to undo them with Grantaire constantly moving to kiss a different part of Enjolras's face, but eventually he got them all undone. He pushed it off of him, revealing the muscled chest that Enjolras had spent a few nights snuggled against. 

Enjolras pushed Grantaire off of him, worrying the older man slightly, making him think he'd done something wrong. The corners of his mouth were about to curve into a frown when Enjolras flipped him over and began kissing him. He ran his hands over Grantaire's chest and kissed him fiercely. His moment of control was short lived though, as Grantaire quickly turned him over to be on top again. Enjolras slid his hands further and further down Grantaire's back, smirking as his boyfriend's eyes widened. 

"Enjolras, are you sure you're okay doing this?" Grantaire asked worriedly. He didn't want to do anything his boyfriend was uncomfortable with.  
"Grantaire, I'm ready if you are." Enjolras smiled earnestly, reaching up to kiss him whilst keeping his hand resting where it was.  
"You've not done this before, have you?" He asked, still worried.  
"No. But I've not done any of this before. You are my first love, my first kiss, my first boyfriend. I want my first time at this to be with you. Well, I only ever want to do this with you, I don't have any plans to ever be with anyone else so I would never-"  
Grantaire cut him off. "Enjolras?"  
"Yes?"  
"Shut up and kiss me." 

 

It was nine o'clock on Wednesday morning. The front door was closed but it wasn't locked, which was unlike Enjolras, who always locked the door behind him. Cosette stepped inside, shouting her brother's name to find out where he was. There was no answer.   
"Enjolras?" She called, "Grantaire? Where are you?"

She tiptoed upstairs, assuming the boys were still asleep. Enjolras's door was bright red, with 'Enjolras' painted in big black letters. It was slightly ajar, and through it, Cosette could hear the breathy snore of her brother. They had shared a room for the first nine years of their lives, so she could easily tell her brother's breathing from that of his boyfriend, who didn't seem to snore at all. 

When she pushed the door open and walked in, she almost woke up the sleeping pair by tripping over a shirt. She decided to shout loudly and wake them up. It would be funny. Preparing to shout, Cosette caught sight of their faces, then their necks, shirtless chests and blankets, thankfully, pulled over and covering everything from their waists downwards. 

"Oh." Her lips turned up into a cunning smile.

Enjolras and Grantaire didn't wake up for another two hours, having been up quite late the previous night. Enjolras woke first, opening his eyes to find himself snuggled comfortably in the crook of his boyfriend's neck. Smiling, he sat up slightly, moving his hands to hold Grantaire's face. He looked so peaceful, asleep and silent apart from the tiny breaths escaping his mouth every few seconds. 

"I'm so lucky to have you, Grantaire. I'm so lucky to be in love with you. I'm so lucky to be loved by you. I love you so much. So much, Taire." He whispered softly, stroking his boyfriend's cheekbone with his thumb. "I love you Grantaire. You're so perfect."

Grantaire woke up to feel Enjolras's small hand on his cheek. He leant into it slightly, letting his boyfriend know that he was awake. Warm lips touched his for a moment. Then he felt Enjolras flop down onto the bed and snuggle closer to him. Grantaire opened his eyes to see a pair of chocolatey whirlpools gazing at him and those same lips smiling blissfully. 

Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker pierced the happy silence between them as Enjolras's phone rang. He reached over and was about to put it on silent when he saw that it was his mother. 

"Hello Mum! How's Spain?" He greeted her, a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
"Spain is great. It's so hot! But we're going to be coming home two days early, I'm afraid." Fantine replied, sounding upset.  
"Oh. Why?"  
"Your father broke his ankle. He thought it would be clever to take a different route on a walk we were doing and managed to break his ankle by tripping over a log or something."   
"Is he alright?"  
"He's fine, but we can't do much now he's on crutches, so we're coming home tomorrow afternoon. We'll be back by ten o'clock. Would you or Cosette be able to pick us up from the airport?"  
"Cosette's with Marius at the moment, but I'll do it. My boyfriend will be with me though. Is that okay?"  
"I completely forgot about your boyfriend! Say hello to him for me! How's everything been?"  
"It's been wonderful. He's here until Saturday evening, so you'll be able to meet him."  
"I look forward to it! Your father wants to speak to you. I'll see you soon, dear."

"How've you been, son? How are your sister and her fiancé? How is your boyfriend?" Valjean sounded delighted when he said the word 'fiancé'.  
"I'm great, Cosette and Marius were great last time I saw them, my boyfriend is wonderful, thank you. How are you?"  
"That's good to hear. Other than the broken ankle, I'm fit and healthy. Your boyfriend will still be there when we get back, yes?"  
"He will be."  
"I expect to be meeting him then!"  
"Dad, you're going to be in the same house as him for two days. Of course you'll meet him!"  
"Good. And son, if he isn't good enough for you, if I see any signs of him treating you badly, I swear he'll be sorry."  
"Dad! Grantaire is perfect. He'd never hurt me!"  
"It's just standard procedure. I have to say that. As a father, it is my job to tell my children that if any man ever hurts them, I'll hit them where the sun doesn't shine. I said it to Cosette's fiancé, and I'll say it to your boyfriend."  
"Okay, I've got to go now Dad. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!"

Enjolras hung up and put his phone back on charge, snuggling back down next to Grantaire.  
"Sorry about that. Where were we?" He chuckled, leaning in for a kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a thing about this chapter: where it says 'mummy' and 'daddy' what would actually be written is whatever a young child would call their parents in Sweden. I'm not Swedish and know very little about Sweden. Enjolras is Swedish because Anton Zetterholm (the face of Enjolras for me) is.

"Mum, Dad, this is Grantaire, my boyfriend. Grantaire, my parents." Enjolras nervously introduced them to each other. Grantaire shook his father's hand and kissed his mother's.  
"It's lovely to meet you Mr and Mrs Valjean." He smiled graciously.  
"Honestly, dear, there's no need for that. Call us Fantine and Jean." Fantine said as they got into the car. Enjolras drove, Jean sat in the passenger seat. Grantaire sat with Fantine in the back. He opened the door for her and helped her in. 

"Well, I can certainly see where Enjolras gets his good looks from!"  
Fantine blushed. "What a charming young man you've found yourself, Enjolras. He's such a gentleman! So, how have you boys been? Have you done anything fun?"

"I met Enjolras's friends on Tuesday. They're all very nice. I like Cosette a lot."   
"She's such a wonderful girl. And you've met her fiancé as well, I assume?" Valjean interrupted at the mention of Cosette.  
"Dad, Marius has a name, you know?"   
"My little girl is engaged! Let me be excited about it, Enjolras!" 

When they got home, Enjolras put the kettle on and made tea for everyone, leaving Grantaire alone with his parents in the living room. Valjean sat forward on his chair, leaning slightly menacingly towards Grantaire. 

"Well, you seem like a lovely young man, Grantaire. I'm glad Enjolras has found someone like you." Fantine said, smiling.  
"I'm glad he found me too, Mrs Valjean."   
"Fantine, dear."  
"Fantine. Yes, I'm sorry."

Enjolras walked in, balancing a plate of biscuits on top of three mugs of tea in one hand, and carrying another mug in the other.  
"Enjolras, dear, would it not be easier to carry two mugs in each hand? Or better, get a tray?"   
"Maybe it would, but then I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between my tea and your horrible unsugared tea!" Enjolras faked annoyance towards his mother.  
"And how do you take your tea, Grantaire, dear?" Fantine smiled sweetly at him.  
"A little bit of milk and no sugar- the proper way!" Grantaire smirked proudly up at Enjolras, who looked genuinely annoyed at this point.  
"Oh look, and he drinks tea properly as well! Enjolras, I do think I'll get on very nicely with your boyfriend." Enjolras sat down next to Grantaire, who put his arm discreetly around his waist.

"Now, Grantaire, I'm afraid I'm going to have to say this." Jean Valjean had been sitting silently until this point.  
"Dad..." Enjolras warned.  
"I want you to know that if I ever hear that you have treated my son badly," Jean's eyes burned furiously with just the thought of it.  
"Dad, stop."  
"or hurt him in any way, I will make sure that your life becomes a living hell. Is that clear?" He growled.  
"Absolutely clear, sir. I would never hurt him. I love Enjolras more than I have ever loved anyone. To see him hurt would cause me more pain than I could imagine." Grantaire looked a little scared but completely sincere.  
"Good, glad we cleared that up. Enjolras, you wanted to say something?"  
"You didn't have to scare him like that!"  
"Standard procedure, son. And now I know that I can trust him, because, by the look on his face, he's a bit scared of me. Right, Grantaire?"   
"Right, sir. But scared of you or not, I would never hurt Enjolras. Ever." 

About an hour later, they all went up to bed. Enjolras and Grantaire went through the red door labelled 'Enjolras' and Fantine and Jean into their bedroom. Their door was green, with blue letters spelling out 'Mummy and Jean'; however 'Jean' was crossed out with a wonky line and a child had attempted to spell out 'Daddy' in messy handwriting. Enjolras smiled fondly at the door after it closed behind his parents, remembering the day that he'd climbed on Cosette's shoulders to splash the blue writing onto the door.

Behind the door, both Enjolras's parents were smiling. 

"Oh, he's so nice. Such a lovely, charming young man!" Fantine whispered, grinning.  
"He's so polite and respectful! You don't get many boys his age that are like that!" Valjean was just as excited.  
"Such a gentleman. He opened the car door for me, carried our suitcases, kissed my hand... All that chivalrous nonsense that nobody seems to bother with anymore."  
"Very mature as well, the way he talked to us and didn't seem uncomfortable."  
"And so handsome!" 

Needless to say, Enjolras's parents adored Grantaire. 

Enjolras had just finished brushing his teeth and walked back into his room. Grantaire was laying on the bed, listening to Fantine and Jean talk about how great he was. He smirked at Enjolras. "I think they like me."  
"Oh really?" Enjolras stood at the end of the bed.  
"Well, I can see why they like me. I'm so charming and mature and polite... And, I'm very, very handsome."  
"And humble, I see?"   
"I'm just repeating what I've heard. But there's one thing they haven't said. You know what I definitely am?"  
"Loud? Shh, they'll hear you!" Enjolras whispered.  
"Come closer then, so I don't have to be so loud." 

Enjolras pulled off his pyjama shirt and climbed into bed to snuggle up next to Grantaire. Grantaire put his arm around his boyfriend, moving closer and rolling onto his side so their lips were almost touching. He looked into Enjolras's chocolatey brown eyes and whispered, "I'm lucky, Enjolras, lucky to have you. And, also, I'm madly in love with you."


	17. Chapter 17

A month later, Enjolras and Grantaire were in Grantaire's bed, drifting in and out of the hazy, dreamlike state between sleep and consciousness. Their slumber was interrupted by the loud ringing of a phone. Enjolras was closer to the phone and Grantaire was still asleep, so he picked it up and answered it.

"Hello," he croaked groggily.  
"Hello, am I speaking to Grantaire Stevenson?" A rather official sounding person asked.  
"No, sorry, he's asleep at the moment, so I picked up his phone. I'm his boyfriend."  
"Would you please wake Mr Stevenson. We have urgent news about his grandmother."  
"Of course." Enjolras turned to his boyfriend and shook his shoulder. "Taire, wake up. Important phone call for you." 

When Grantaire woke up, Enjolras handed him the phone. He didn't hear what the person on the other end said, but by Grantaire's horrified expression he could tell it was bad.   
"Can I come in now?" Grantaire choked out, tears forming in his eyes. "Okay... Yes... Of course... I'll be there in ten minutes... Thank you, goodbye."  
Grantaire sprung out of the bed, frantically rushing around the room and throwing on clothes. Enjolras started doing the same.

"What're you doing?" Grantaire asked, watching Enjolras button up his jeans.  
"Getting dressed, what does it look like?"   
"You don't have to come. You should get some sleep."  
"Grantaire, something's happened to your grandmother. You're not going to want to be alone. I can stay if you really don't want me to come, I don't mind." Enjolras took a step towards Grantaire, holding his hands.  
"No, I want you with me." Grantaire looked uneasy.  
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."  
"No, Enj, please come. I can't do this without you."

The drive to the hospital was short, and Grantaire was quick to find the room his grandma was in. Enjolras wasn't allowed into the room because he wasn't immediate family, so he waited outside the door on the uncomfortable plastic chairs. There were a few posters on the walls, and Enjolras must've read them several hundred times before he decided he needed something better to do. The nurse was still talking to Grantaire, so he decided to go and find some coffee. 

He wandered, lost, around the hospital for a few minutes before asking for directions to the coffee shop. He bought a coffee and a blueberry muffin for Grantaire, and a cup of tea for himself. When he got back to the chairs outside the room, the nurse had just closed the door. 

"I know I'm not technically allowed to go in there, but can I please just go in to comfort him?" Enjolras pleaded, using the puppy dog eyes.   
"I'm sorry, sir, but only family are allowed in."  
Enjolras thought quickly. Grantaire needed him. "But we're married! My husband is in there crying and you won't even let me comfort him."   
The nurse's expression changed, a mixture of pity and unease. She let him in and, after setting down the drinks on a little table, he rushed to Grantaire and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Grantaire stood up for a moment, just long enough for Enjolras to sit on the only chair in the room, and then he was pulled onto his boyfriend's lap. 

Neither of them spoke for a while. Enjolras just held Grantaire and stroked his wild brown hair, while Grantaire cried silently into his boyfriend's shoulder.   
"It's okay, Taire. Everything's going to be alright." Enjolras whispered softly in Grantaire's ear.  
"She's had a stroke. She's not going to be alright."  
"She will be. She'll get better. She'll be fine."

They sat in silence for a while longer.  
"Enjolras?"  
Enjolras hummed in response.  
"I'm so glad you're here."  
"Well, I couldn't sit out there and do nothing, could I?"  
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm so glad you're here, so glad you exist, so glad you love me, so glad you're with me." Grantaire sat up a little to look Enjolras in the eyes. Enjolras hugged him tighter and kissed his forehead.   
"How did you even get in here? I thought only family were allowed in."   
"I told the nurse we're married. Which would mean I am family, and also makes them feel worse for keeping us apart."  
"Clever, and she believed you?"  
"Well, obviously. She have me a bit of a 'you look too young to be married' look, but I convinced her."  
"What about rings? We would be wearing rings."  
Enjolras held out his left hand. On his ring finger was a gold band. "It was my grandfather's wedding ring. We were really close. I usually wear it on my right hand, to remind me of him, but I swapped it over. So she believed me, and here I am." He smiled proudly.  
"Thank you for staying with me."  
"I wouldn't be anywhere else." 

 

When the doctor walked into the room at nine o'clock the next morning, she first saw the elderly lady- unconscious, but breathing- on the blue hospital bed, then the rugged man in a green hoodie cradled in the arms of an angelic man, clearly a little younger than him. The angel man had his arms wrapped protectively around the other, who looked very similar to the lady in the hospital bed. 

"Excuse me," she cleared her throat loudly, waking Grantaire up, "Mr Stevenson?"  
"Yes?"   
"Your grandmother will be well enough to be released from hospital in two days. She will, however need someone to stay with her until she is fully back to normal. We are aware that your mother would not be willing to do this, so we were hoping that you'd do that."  
"Of course, absolutely."  
"All she'll need is someone to be there, to fetch and carry for her, make her a cup of tea and check she's alright."  
"Of course. I've got a spare room at my house, so she can stay with me."

After the doctor left, Grantaire fell quickly back to sleep. He didn't wake for a while the events of the night having completely exhausted him. Enjolras woke first, and when he did, there was a pair of blue eyes gazing at him.

"And who might you be, young man?" Grantaire's grandmother asked, confused.  
"Oh, I'm Enjolras. I'm Grantaire's..." He paused, not knowing whether Grantaire was out to his family. "Friend."  
"Friend? Cuddled up like that? I know he's gay, it's okay, so are you his boyfriend, dear?" She chuckled.  
"Yes, yes I am." Enjolras smiled.  
"Well, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Amelia, Grantaire's nan."  
"It's lovely to meet you too, ma'am."  
"Oh, there's no need for that nonsense. Just Amelia will do. Where are you from, dear?"  
"Stockholm, Sweden."  
"That would explain the accent. So, how did you meet my grandson?"  
"Over the internet. We've been friends for ages, but we only met in person in June. We've been together since then." 

"And you love him?"   
"More than I can say."   
"Good. Now, my dear, you are aware that Grantaire has very few people close to him?"  
Enjolras nodded. Amelia suddenly became deadly serious.   
"Does it fall to me to say 'don't break his heart'?"  
"It doesn't need saying. I would never do that. Ever."  
"May I ask, as someone who has witnessed the breaking of many a heart, how you can be so sure?" She leaned towards him, kind but glaring.  
"Because he's the only person I've ever loved."


	18. Chapter 18

Again, Enjolras was woken up by a phone ringing. This time he was asleep in his own bed at home, and it was half past one in the morning. He had been up all of the previous night writing an essay, so he was completely exhausted. He was considering not picking up, but it was Grantaire and he couldn't resist.

"Taire?" He breathed, his voice gruff and tired.  
"Enjolras... she died." Grantaire was crying on the other end of the phone. "I need you, Jolras. Can you-"  
"I'll be there as soon as I can, Taire. I've got to put the phone down so I can drive, but I'll call you when I'm at the airport, okay?"  
"Please hurry."  
"I will. I love you."  
"I love you too."

Enjolras was already dressed by the time Grantaire hung up. He stuffed his phone, wallet, passport, keys and headphones into his pockets and scribbled a note to his parents, who would no doubt be confused when he wasn't there the next morning.

He jumped on his motorbike, and got to the airport in a record time of twelve minutes. He ran to the man at the desk, almost out of breath from running.

"Hi, when's the next flight to London?"  
"Anywhere in particular?"  
"Preferably Heathrow but it doesn't matter."  
"The next plane to anywhere in London that has seats available is in six and a half hours, sir."  
"Please, there's got to be something!"  
"I'm sorry, sir, but all the flights are fully booked."

Enjolras buried his head in his hands, wondering what to do. He was about to phone Grantaire when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned round to see and elderly lady holding a purple and green spotted suitcase.  
"Young man, I believe you need a ticket to London?"  
"Yes, I do." He sighed.  
"Visiting someone?"  
"My boyfriend. His grandmother just died, and she's the only person he's got besides me."   
"You can have my seat. You need it more than I do."  
"Thank you so much! How much was it?"  
"Don't worry. I know what it's like to live so far from your partner. The ticket is yours."  
"Really?"  
"Yes, now get going! The plane leaves in an hour."  
"Thank you. I honestly cannot thank you enough."

Enjolras dashed through the departures gate, getting to his plane with ten minutes to spare. 

Three and a bit hours later, he stood on Grantaire's doorstep, a little out of breath from running all the way from the train station. He rung the bell, the door opened and he had barely taken one step inside before a dishevelled and exhausted Grantaire fell into his arms, crying.

*

"Enjolras, can you do me a favour?" Grantaire seemed nervous.   
"Of course, baby, anything."   
"Will you call my parents for me?" There was a hint of fear in his voice.  
"To tell them?"  
"Yeah."   
"Of course, love. You go and get ready for bed. I'll be up when I'm done.

Enjolras didn't ask why Grantaire couldn't call them himself, he kept quiet, noticing his boyfriend's uncomfortableness and not wanting to upset him more. 

"Hello?" A stern voice answered the phone.  
"Hello, is this Mr Stevenson?"  
"Yes, speaking. To whom do I speak?"  
"My name is Enjolras Valjean. May I speak to your wife, please? I have some sad news regarding her mother." The man's posh accent had caused Enjolras to speak quite differently.

There was a pause and a scuffle as the phone was being handed over, and then a higher, even more snooty voice greeted him.  
"Good evening. Roberta Stevenson speaking. I understand you have some news about my mother."  
"Yes, I'm very sorry to tell you that she passed away last night."  
"I haven't been on speaking terms with my mother for eleven years. May I ask why you thought it necessary to inform me of her passing?"  
"Your son wanted you to know."  
"My son!" She scoffed, "I haven't spoken to that disgusting disappointment since he was fourteen years old." 

"Don't talk about him like that." Enjolras was getting angry.   
"And why should I not? Who are you to tell me what I can and can't say? Who even are you? I just assumed you were from whatever hospital my mother died in."  
"My name is Enjolras, I'm not from a hospital and your mother wasn't in one when she died. She had a stroke a couple of months ago, you see, and after she was released from hospital, she lived with Grantaire-"  
"Don't even mention his name. I don't want to hear it."  
"Why not?" Enjolras wanted to shout down the phone, but didn't want Grantaire to worry. "What did he ever do wrong?"  
"He decided to be gay! He had the nerve to be gay, against our wishes. He's disgusting."  
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare say that! Grantaire-"  
"I don't want to hear it."  
"Well, that's tough, because I'm going to say it. Grantaire is the most wonderful and most beautiful man I have ever met. He's the furthest thing from disgusting. If you can't see that then you're clearly a horrible, horrible person!"  
"You still haven't told me who you are."  
"I'm your son's boyfriend, and it's about time I went up and got into bed with him, actually."  
"You're both disgusting!"  
"No, we're not. Goodbye, Mrs Stevenson. I doubt you'll hear from me again."

Enjolras hung up, then ran upstairs and crawled into bed. Grantaire snuggled into his chest, and Enjolras wrapped his arms tightly and protectively around him. He pressed his lips to Grantaire's forehead. They lay still and silent, both thinking the other was asleep, wondering about the phone call.


	19. Chapter 19

Enjolras stayed with Grantaire for three weeks, holding him while he cried, helping him with funeral arrangements, supporting him. Each day Grantaire insisted that Enjolras go back to Stockholm but Enjolras insisted that the first week of school wasn't important and he could stay. 

The funeral was on August the 29th, two weeks after she died. Grantaire and Enjolras sat in the front row of chairs, closest to the coffin. Grantaire only let go of his boyfriend's hand when Enjolras put his arm around him as he cried. Enjolras, despite having only met Amelia a few weeks previously, shed a few tears. 

Only the first few rows of seats were filled up with people. There were two seats left in the front row: Grantaire had hoped his parents would come. They hadn't. 

After the funeral, Enjolras and Grantaire went home. Enjolras drove, despite Grantaire's protests that he technically wasn't allowed. They pulled up at Grantaire's house and went inside. Enjolras made tea, and they sat together on the sofa in silence for a while.

"When I was fourteen, I told my parents I'm gay. I told them together, we were sat at the table eating dinner and I cried. My dad looked disappointed, and Mum... Mum was furious. I could see it in her eyes, though she didn't say anything. The next day, when I got home from school, there was a suitcase in my room- a big black suitcase with a note in my mum's handwriting. It said, 'Pack everything you want to keep. You won't be coming back here. There will be a taxi arriving at six o'clock which will take you to wherever you want to go.' I had an hour and twenty minutes to say goodbye to my home and decide what I wanted to keep, and where I was going to go." 

Grantaire paused, going quiet, a few more tears trickling down his face. Enjolras tightened his arm around him. "You don't have to tell me if it upsets you, my love. It's alright."

"No, I want to tell you." He took a deep breath and carried on. "So I went to my Nan's house. I arrived there at half past seven, just turned up on her doorstep in my too big hoodie, clutching a big black suitcase. When she let me in and hugged me, I cried. I explained to her what'd happened and she said I'd stay with her from then on. She tried to talk to my parents, but they wouldn't listen, of course, and so she was cast out of the family as well. I remember what she said to me the night she'd spoken to them. She got off the phone and I've never seen anyone angrier. She said, "Grantaire, dear, I want you to know that you never have to see your parents again unless you want to. I'm perfectly happy to never see them again in my life." And she looked after me from then on. Then, when I was 20, I moved here. That's when I started... When..."  
"When you started what, Taire? It's okay, you can tell me. I love you."  
"When I started drinking."  
"That's alright, a little bit of drink now and then never hurt anyone."  
"I don't mean drinking a little, Jolras, I mean a lot. A lot, every day." Grantaire looked down, ashamed.  
"Oh. How did you get over it?" Enjolras urged him to go on.  
"I didn't."

"You mean, you still drink?" Enjolras looked shocked, not having noticed Grantaire drinking heavily ever. He hadn't even seen any alcohol around the house.  
"I shouldn't have told you. I'm so stupid, oh god, you're going to leave me now. I shouldn't have said anything. You don't love me anymore. Why did I tell you in the first place? I'm such an idiot. I-"  
"Shhh... Shh, Taire, be quiet."  
"Why do I always do this? Mess things up just when they're perfect. You're going to leave me, you must hate me, I'm so sorry, Enjolras, I'm so sorry."  
"Grantaire, I will never leave you!" Enjolras almost roared. "If you think something like a drinking problem is going to stop me loving you then you underestimate how I feel for you. I got up and flew a thousand miles at half one in the morning, just because you needed me. We make a long distance relationship work when so many people can't. And you know why? Because I love you. I love you so much. I'm not going to leave you, not now and not ever, Taire. Never. You understand?"

Grantaire sat in stunned silence. He managed a small nod and then looked down at his feet. Enjolras got off the sofa and knelt in front of Grantaire, holding his face in his hands. He turned Grantaire's head to look at him. 

"Let's go to bed."


End file.
